NOTES ON 

New York City and Vicinity 



COMPILED FOR 
NEW ENGLAND WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION 
Convention of 1905 



f^^ (^* t^* 5(?* ^* <(?• (^* 

IMPORTANT NOTICE. 

BRING THIS BOOK WITH YOU TO THE 
CONVENTION. 

The edition for free distribution is lim- 
ited so that not more than one copy can be 
given to each person. Additional copies, 
however, can be bought of the publishers, the 
McGRAW PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

114 LIBERTY STREET, - - NEW YORK. 

j^W (^W 5^W (^* 5^* 4^* (^* 



NOTES ON 

NEW YORK CITY and VICINITY 

DESCRIBING ENGINEERING WORKS 
AND PLACES OF GENERAL INTEREST 



COMPILED FOR THE ANNUAL CONVENTION 
OF THE 

NEW ENGLAND WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION 

TO BE HELD IN NEW YORK CITY 
SEPTEMBER 13 TO 16. 1905 



NEW YORK 

McGRAW PUBLISHING COMPANY 

114 LIBERTY STREET 

1905 



ILeBKARY or gONGKESS 

AUG afi mob 

i)op^ri»«ni umx 

OOPV Si 






COPYRIGHT 1905 

BY THE 

McGraw Publishing Company 

NEW YORK 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 

For the publishing of this book, the 
Committee is indebted to the courtesy 
of the McGraw Publishing Company, 
1 1 4 Liberty Street, New York, publish- 
ers of The Engineering Record, The Elec- 
trical World and Engineer, The Street 
Railway Journal, The American Elec- 
trician, The Electrochemical and Metal- 
lurgical Industry and many technical books. 



LOCAL COMMITTEE ON ARRANGEMENTS 
New York Convention 

New England Water Works Association 

J. Waldo Smith, Chairman, 299 Broadway, New York. 
Allen Hazen, Secretary, 220 Broadway, New York. 
Robert J. Thomas, Lowell, Mass. 

SUB=COiV\MITTEES. 

FINANCE. 
Dennis F. O'Brien, A. P. Smith Manufacturing Company, Newark, N. J. 
J. W. Dunn, International Steam Pump Company, New York. 
F. C. Perkins, President, Neptune Meter Company, New York. 
H. C. Folger, Secretary, Thompson Meter Company, New York. 
J. A. TiLDEN, Hersey Meter Compan\', Boston, Mass. 
Fred S. Bates, Rensselaer Manufacturing Company, Troj', N. Y. 
J. H. Caldwell, Vice-President, Ludlow Valve Company, Troy, N. Y. 
W. J. Sando, Allis-Chalmers Company, Milwaukee, Wis. 

PAPERS. 
G. W. Fuller, 170 Broadway, New York. 
M. N. Baker, 220 Broadway, New York. 
M. R. Sherrerd, Newark, N. J. 

PUBLICATIONS. 
A. D. Flinn, 299 Broadway, New York. 
G. A. SoPER, 29 Broadway, New York. 
G. A. Taber, Park Row BLiilding, New York. 

EN PER PA IN MEN P. 
Walter Drummond, 182 Broadway, New York. 
Charles R. Bettes, Far Rockaway, L. L 
A. W. Cuddeb.\ck, Paterson, N. J. 

E. H. Foster, 126 Liberty Street, New York. 
Charles A. Hague, 52 Broadway, New York. 
D. D. Jackson, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

H. S. Peake, Henry R. Worthington, New York. 

T. F. Learv, H. Mueller Manufacturing Company, New York. 

Edw. L. Peene, Yonkers, N. Y. 

Charles L. Pakmelee, 126 Liberty Street, New York. 

Geo. S. Rice, 320 Broadway. New York. 

F. W. Shepperu, Bennett Building, New York. 

Fred. Smith, Hersey Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass. 
.■\?THUR S. TuTTLE. ij"/ Broadway, New York. 
' George C. Whipple, 22c Broadway, New York. 
Wm. R. Hill, Brooklyn. N. Y. 

EXHIBITS. 
Fred Whitcomp.. A. P. Smith Manufacturing Company, Newark. N. J. 



To the members and guests of the New England Water Works Asso- 
ciation this booklet is offered on the occasion of the annual convention 
in New York City, September 13 to 16, 1905, with the compliments of the 
Local Committee on Arrangements. It has been compiled and edited by 
the sub-committee on publication as a summer evening pastime. No one 
claims that it is unabridged; something is left to the inquisitiveness 
of the reader. Furthermore, as the committee receives a commission 
on all guide books sold in New York, particular care has been ex- 
ercised to avoid interfering with that business. Free use has been made 
of any sources of information that suited the whims of the committee, and 
no detailed obligations will be acknowledged. Everybody who wishes may 
claim credit for contributions. No mistakes have been made; if you disa- 
gree with anything on the following pages, just change it. 

Most respectfully, 

Sub-Committee on Publications, 

Alfred D. Flinn, 

George A. Soper, 

George A. Taber. 
New York, August 10, 1905. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Matters of Interest to Visitors to New York i 

Map of Manhattan in Pocket at Back of Book. 

Historjr I 

Topography and Divisions of the City 2 

Harbor 3 

Statistics (Population, Area, Vahiations.) 5 

Broadway 6 

Wall Street 8 

Fifth Avenue 9 

Museinns, Monuments and Parks 11 

Water Front 14 

Note: — For lists and locations of other places of interest consult back 
of map. 

Water Works of Greater New York 17 

Reservoirs, Dams and Aqueducts of Croton System 17 

Map of Watershed in Pocket at Back of Book. 

Reservoirs on Croton Watershed, Table 21 

Principal Dams on Croton Watershed, Table 23 

Costs of Some Croton Reservoirs, Table 2^ 

Cross River and Croton Falls Reservoirs 25 

Distribution of Storage on Croton Watershed • 27 

High Bridge and Water Tower 27 

Harlem River Tunnel and Shaft 25 27 

Jerome Park Reservoir 29 

Central Park Reservoirs 2;} 

Filtration of Croton Water 23 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Water Works of Greater New York — Continued — page 

Water Distribution and Borough Supplies 34 

Distribution Pipe System in Manhattan 34 

High-Pressure Fire Systems 34 

Use of Water Meters in New York 35 

Water Supply of Borough of Brooklyn 2)^ 

Water Supply of Borough of Richmond t,S 

Water Supply of Borough of Queens 39 

Mt. Prospect Laboratory, Brooklyn 39 

Additional Water Supply for New York 40 

Rapid Transit in New York 4J 

Elevated Railroads and Rapid Transit Subway 43 

East River Tunnel of Subway 45 

Harlem River Tunnel of Subway 49 

Important Railroad Improvements 51 

Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnels to New York 51 

New York Central Terminal Improvements 51 

Tunnels Under North River 53 

A Few Prominent Bridges in New York 55 

Washington Bridge 55 

Bridges Over East River 55 

Brooklyn Bridge ^7 

Williamsburg Bridge 57 

Blackwell's Island Bridge 57 

Manhattan Bridge 59 

Lighting, Power and Sanitation 60 

Gas Works 60 

Electric Lighting 61 

Municipal Lighting Plant 62 

Large Power Houses 64 

l)ei)artnient of Health 65 

Street Cleaning 66 

Brooklyn Sewerage Improvements 68 



TABLE OF CONTEXTS. 

PAGE 

New Water Works in the Vicinity of New York 70 

Yonkers Water Works 70 

Water Filters at Poughkeepsie 72 

East Jersey Water Company y^, 

Little Falls Filters y6 

Water Supply Works for Jersey City yy 

Hackensack Filters 78 

Cedar Grove Reservoir, Newark 79 

New Water Works for East Orange 80 

Miscellaneous : 

Flat-Iron Building 83 

Large Engineering Works in New York and Vicinity 83 

West Point 84 

Manufacturing Plants of Interest to Water Works Men 87 

Henry R. Worthington 87 

A. P. Smith Company 87 

Neptune Meter Company 88 

National Meter Company 88 




I 



Matters of Interest to Visitors to New 

York. 



The subjects of greatest interest to most visitors to New York depend 
chiefly upon the commercial and financial greatness of the city. New York 
has little to offer to the historian except personal associations of distin- 
guished men. Excepting for its superb site, it cannot be regarded as a 
beautiful city. It is the home of several important universities and other 
centers of instruction, but the claim of intellectual superiority is not the 
one most prominently advanced. It is as a center of commerce and finance 
that New York stands alone in America. In these respects it is also be- 
coming the chief city of the world. 

Many of the causes and evidences of the vast trade and money in- 
terests which center in New York are apparent to the most casual tourist. 
It is to aid in bringing some of these objects to the attention of water- 
v.'orks men and engineers that the following notes are prepared. The same 
information is obtainable from other quarters, but it is believed that this 
brief account may lead the visitor to economize some of his time and prove 
not unhelpful to an intelligent opinion of the Metropolis. For fuller in- 
formation concerning the sights of the city the visitor is referred to various 
guide books, among the best and most recent of which are the "Standard 
Guide," published by Foster & Reynolds, 25 cents ; "Appleton's Directory 
of Greater New York," 25 cents ; the "World" and "Eagle" almanacs. 

HISTORY. 

The authentic history of New York begins with the exploration of 
the Hudson River by Henry Hudson in 1609. The first permanent settle- 
ment was made in 1624 by the West India Company. At this time Man- 
hattan Island was bought from the Indians for about $25.00 by Peter 
Minuit, who founded the settlement which was called New Amsterdam 
and has since become the city of New York. The town was seized by the 
English, in time of peace, in 1664, was retaken by the Dutch in 1673 and 
passed into English possession again by treaty in 1674. 

In 1765 delegates of nine of the thirteen colonies met in New York 
to protest against the Stamp Act and assert the doctrine of no taxation 
without representation. The first bloodshed of the Revolution took place 
in New York in 1770, in a scuffle with British soldiers about a liberty pole 
erected by the Americans to commemorate the repeal of the Stamp Act. 
This was six weeks before the Boston Massacre. At that time New York 
had a population of about 20,000, and was exceeded in size by Boston and 
Philadelphia. The city extended as far up town as the present location of 
the City Hall. The liberty pole just referred to was in this vicinity. 



2 NEJr YORK AND VICINITY. 

New York was the scene of some desperate contests during the Revo- 
hitionary War. Washington occupied the place in 1776. In the neighbor- 
hood of Ii6th Street, on high ground now occupied by Columbia Uni- 
versity, may be seen a tablet marking a place which was heroically de- 
fended by the Americans in the Battle of Harlem Heights, September 16, 
1776. After the battles of Harlem Heights and Long Island, the American 
army retired from the vicinity of New York, and the town was occupied 
by the British as headquarters for seven years. The British evacuated it 
in 1783, the last boatload of soldiers leaving the Battery on November 25. 
From 1785 to 1790, New York was the seat of the new Federal Government. 
Until 1797 it was the capital of the State. 

At the commencement of the 17th century the population of New York 
was 60,000 ; at the commencement of the 20th century it was 3,437,202. In 
1807 the first steamboat was put upon the Hudson ; the Erie Canal con- 
necting New York with Buffalo, on Lake Erie, was opened in 1825 ; Croton 
water was introduced in 1842 ; the elevated railroad was opened in 1878 ; 
gas lighting dates from 1825; illumination by electricity about 1881. In 
the war of 1812, commerce in New York suffered greatly. The city con- 
tributed 116,000 men to the Civil War. 

TOPOGRAPHY AND DIVISIONS OF THE CITY. 

Topographically, New York may be divided into two parts : Man- 
hattan Island and the districts which are adjacent to it. The chief in- 
terest to tourists naturally centers about Manhattan, which is the oldest, 
most thickly populated and most important section of the city. 

Manhattan Island is a long, narrow neck of land extending almost in 
a north-and-south direction between the Hudson River and a broad, deep, 
tidal channel, connecting Long Island Sound with New York Harbor, 
called the East River. The island's greatest length is 13 miles, and its 
average width less than 2 miles. The northern part is hilly, with limestone 
and gneiss formations ; the southern is low, with deep alluvial deposits. 
Manhattan Island has a long water front, nearly all of which is available 
for ships of the deepest draft. The water front of the greater city is about 
450 miles. 

North of Manhattan Island is that section of New York City known 
as the borough of the Bronx. It is mainly a district of suburban homes 
and parks with several thickly-settled neighborhoods along its south- 
eastern border. The area of the Bronx is about 40 square miles. The 
region is made up chiefly of parallel hills and valleys, the greatest eleva- 
tions being about 200 ft. New York University is situated in the Bronx 
with its celebrated Hall of Fame overlooking the Harlem River at Morris 
Heights, easily reached by the New York Central Railway. The Bronx 
and its various parks, of which the Zoological and Botanical Gardens are 
of the greatest interest to strangers, can be reached by the Second or Third 
Avenue elevated railway system, by the Rapid Transit Subway or by v-a- 
rious trolley lines. 

To the east of Manhattan Island lies the borough, and former sepa- 
rate citv, of Brooklyn. Brooklyn is popularly known as the "City of 



MATTERS OF INTEREST TO J'ISITORS. 3 

Churches," although just before it was consoHdated with New York City, 
Brooklyn was the fourth largest manufacturing center in the United States. 
Some of its factories are the largest in the vicinity of New York. Ex- 
tensive sections of Brooklyn are devoted to unpretentious but comfortable 
residences. Prospect Park and the Mt. Prospect Water Laboratory are 
situated in Brooklyn. The population of Brooklyn in 1900 was 1,166,582. 
Most of the land is well elevated above the sea. The Brooklyn and 
Williamsburg Bridges and various ferries across the East River connect 
this borough with Manhattan. 

East of Brooklyn lies the borough of Queens, the largest geographical 
division of New York City ; its total area is 124 square miles. For the 
most part the land lies at a comparatively slight elevation above tide water. 
The borough of Queens extends from the Atlantic Ocean to Long Island 
Sound. Excepting the large settlements near Long Island City and Ja- 
maica, Queens is a region of farms, suburban homes and one-day summer 
resorts. The most interesting of these resorts. Coney Island and Rockaway 
Beach, can be most conveniently reached by boat from the Battery, by 
trolley across the Brooklyn Bridge, or b\' the Long Island Railroad from 
Thirty-Fourth Street, East River, Manhattan. 

South of New York is the borough of Richmond, generally known as 
Staten Island ; its area is 57 square miles. There is probably no other 
region of that extent on the Atlantic Coast so diversified in scenery and in 
botanical interest. The hills of Staten Island reach the greatest elevation 
of any land on the Atlantic Coast south of Maine, 412 ft. A magnificent 
panoramic view of outer New York Harbor, the Atlantic, Brookhm, Coney 
Island and Manhattan can be had in fine weather from the Howard 
Boulevard, which can be reached by trolley from St. George, the terminal 
of the Staten Island ferry, which leaves the Battery every half hour. The 
population of Staten Island resides for the most part in several old villages 
and in extensive country places scattered over the hills. Midland Beach 
and South Beach are one-day summer resorts flsached by trolley from 
St. George. 

THE HARBOR. 

The southern extremity of Manhattan Island, called the Battery, forms 
the inland limit of the upper New York Bay, a land-locked harbor 8 miles 
long and 4 to 5 miles wide. The State of New Jersey lies to the west; 
Long Island to the east. It is 18 miles from the Battery to the ocean. 
The lower bay, or outer New York Harbor, is connected with the upper 
bay b}' a slender channel called the Narrows, and is protected from the 
sea by a bar, 18 miles long, which extends from Sandy Hook on the New 
Jersey shore to that part of Long Island known as Coney Island. There 
are 32 ft. of water over the bar at high water. Sandy Hook and the Nar- 
rows are elaborately fortified. Good views of the upper and lower bays 
can be had from the Coney Island boats, leaving Pier i. North River, 
and West Twenty-Second Street, hourly, or from the swift steamboats 
of the Sandy Hook line from Pier 6, North River. Between the upper and 
lower bavs is Staten Island, with an area three times that of Manhattan 



4 NEJV YORK AND VICINITY. 

Island, but a population only about one twenty-seventh of that of its 
smaller neighbor. 

There are several islands in the upper bay which are of interest to 
tourists. Liberty Island is interesting for the colossal statue of Liberty 
Enlightening the World, which it contains. This work is by Bartholdi, 
and was presented by the French people to commemorate the looth anni- " 
versary of the Declaration of Independence. The statue is of copper, 151 
ft. high, resting on a granite pedestal 155 ft. high, the total height above 
low-water mark being 306 ft. It was unveiled in 1886. Liberty Island 
may be reached by steamboats which run at hourly intervals from the 
Battery ; fare 25 cents for round trip. An excellent bird's-eye view of the 
upper harbor and shipping may be had from the various points on the 
statue, to which admission can be obtained. The drinking water used on 
the island is carried there by boat. 

Ellis Island, to the north of Liberty Island, is a government station 
for immigrants. All the immigrants which reach New York from foreign 
ports are landed here and cared for in large buildings until they can be 
forwarded to their proper destinations, or called for by relatives. The 
drinking water used here is piped from New Jersey. The total number of 
alien immigrants from foreign countries who arrived at the port of New 
York in 1903 was 718,423. Of this number over 200,000 came from Italy; 
170,000 from Austria-Hungary, and 104,000 from the Russian Empire and 
Finland. 

Governor's Island lies at the mouth of the East River, near the Bat- 
tery. It is a government army station, the headquarters of the Department 
of the Atlantic. The principal point of interest is the picturesque Castle 
William, a small, round brick fort which is situated on the western shore. 
The drinking water for Governor's Island is brought from the Long Island 
shore by pipe line. 

Blackwell's Island, which lies in the East River between Fiftieth and 
Eighty-Fifth Streets, Manhattan, is owned by the city, and used, in com- 
mon with other islands in the vicinity, for public institutions of various 
kinds. Blackwell's Island contains a charity hospital, penitentiary, alms- 
house, workhouse and lunatic asylum. It can be reached by ferry from the 
foot of East Twenty-Sixth Street, near Bellevue Hospital, one of the 
largest hospitals in the world. A permit from the Commissioner of Chari- 
ties and Corrections is required. 

Ward's and Randall's Islands, at the junction of the Harlem and East 
Rivers, are occupied by city institutions, and can be reached by the ferry at 
the foot of East Twenty-Sixth Street. Permission to visit these islands is 
required from the Commissioner of Charities and Corrections. 

In the lower bay are Hofifman and Swinburne Islands, occupied by the 
Commissioner of Quarantine of the State of New York. The quarantine 
of the harbor is carried on by this commission under circumstances which 
give security against the introduction of infectious diseases from other 
ports and impose the least possible inconvenience upon commerce. In- 
stead of detaining ships 40 days, as the name quarantine implies, many 
vessels are not delaved a moment. The necessarv formalities and examin- 



• MATTERS OF INTEREST TO VLSITORS. 5 

ations are often carried on by the quarantine officers while the ship is still 
under way. The quarantine office, with its disinfecting apparatus, labora- 
tories and other extensive equipment, may be visited at its principal head- 
quarters at Stapleton, Staten Island. Dr. A. H. Doty is quarantine officer. 
The transportation of passengers and merchandise across the bay and 
rivers in the New York district is a large business. The total number of 
vessels which entered and cleared the harbor in 1903 was 7,532, with a 
total tonnage of 17,900,168 tons. In the same year the number of vessels 
belonging to the port of New York was 4,138, with a tonnage of 1,400,000 
tons. A large amount of the freight traffic carried by water at New York 
is handled by the railroads which have terminals at this point, the total 
weight of freight, exclusive of coal, carried by these roads exceeding 5,000,- 
000 lbs. per day. There were transported on ferry boats in the New York 
district in 1903, 204,000,000 passengers, of which 8,811,000 traveled directly 
across the center of the upper New York Bay. Most of the remainder 
crossed the Hudson and East Rivers. Many of these passengers were- 
"commuters," who traveled back and forth daily between their homes and 
business. In the same year the number of pleasure seekers carried on ex- 
cursion steamers was 2,300,000. 

STATISTICS. 

By consolidation with Brooklyn, Staten Island and some other neigh- 
bors. New York greatly increased its area and population in 1896. The 
chief increase in population came from the absorption of the city of 
Brooklyn ; the principal additions to the city's area came from the rural 
districts of Queens and Staten Island. The total area of the city is 209,- 
218 acres, or 226.9 square miles. The population, according to the census 
of 1900, was 3,437,202. Of the total population, 1,850,093 lived in Manhat- 
tan, and 1,166,582 in Brooklyn. In addition tens of thousands come every 
day from New Jersey and more distant regions. In 1904, there were 77,083 
deaths, making a total death rate of 20.32 per 1,000. 

New York has 6,962 acres of parks and open spaces, and nearly half 
as many acres of cemeteries. There are 2,852 miles of streets, 1,636 miles 
of sewers, and nearly 1,000 miles of street railways, including the elevated 
and subway systems. The net public debt in 1904 was $333,914,133; the 
assessed value of real estate, $5,015,463,779; the total value of personal 
property, $625,078,878; the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value, between 
$15.10 and $15.90, differing slightly in the different boroughs; the esti- 
mated population, 3,892,455 ; the death rate, 16.63. The police cost more 
than any other department, except public schools, which cost $21,997,017. 
The number of policemen was 8,282, and the cost of maintaining this force 
was $12,409,466. The cost of cleaning the streets was $5,692,912. 

BROADWAY. 

Broadway, the most important business thoroughfare in New York, 

extends, with numerous curves, from the Battery, at the southern extremity 

of Manhattan Island, to the northern limits of the city, its general direction 

being a little east of north. Most of the avenues run in a more north- 



6 NEPV YORK AND VICINITY. 

easterly direction, so that several of them intersect it. Broadway is said to 
be the largest street in the world, and is a part of the old Post Road to 
Albany, the State Capital, 144 miles up the Hudson River. For 4 miles 
from its beginning Broadway is crowded on either side with tall office 
buildings, many of which are built on the steel skeleton principle. By this 
method of construction buildings are erected which do not depend upon 
the strength of their walls for support ; in fact, it is common for the walls, 
like curtains, to be added after much of the frame has been finished. Some 
of these buildings exceed 30,000 tons in weight ; occasionall}' their founda- 
tions go down 100 ft. to bed rock. In some of these buildings there are 
local and express elevators which move at the rate of 500 ft. per minute, 
and carry 25,000 persons per day. The cost of some of these buildings, 
with land, is several million dollars. Space for office purposes on the 
upper floors of the tall office buildings rents for from $2.00 to $4.00 per 
square foot per year. In at least one of these buildings, the Broad Ex- 
change, there are over 3,000 people who receive mail. The first steel 
skeleton building to be constructed anywhere is the structure at No. 50 
Broadway, built in 1888-89. Among the most important of the office build- 
ings on lower Broadway are the Washington, Bowling Green, Standard 
Oil, No. 42, Manhattan Life, Equitable, Empire, Trinity, Western Union 
and St. Paul. Aldrich Court, at No. 43, occupies the site of the first 
habitation of white man on Manhattan Island. 

Trinity Church, at the head of Wall Street, was built in 1839-46, on the 
site of a church erected in 1696. The Trinity Corporation owns real estate 
of different kinds which is said to produce a yearly income of over $500,000. 
St. Paul's Church, a little further up Broadway, was erected in 1756, and is 
the oldest church in New York ; it was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, 
the architect of some of the finest churches in London. Across the way 
from St. Paul's, on the corner of Vesey Street, is the Astor House, one of 
the best known hotels in the city, built in 1836. On Park Row, in the 
same vicinity, is the Park Row office building, the tallest structure in the 
city — 350 ft. high. The cost of the building and ground was $4,000,000. 
The general postoflfice, at the junction of Park Row and Broadway, is a 
large stone building with a mansard roof. About 3,000 persons are said 
to be. employed here. In igoo the receipts of this postoffice amounted to 
$3,998,378.60. There were twenty-seven collections each day. In New 
York City there are about 10,000,000 pieces of mail matter handled every 
twenty-four hours. Transportation of mail is facilitated by the use of 
pneumatic tubes extending to various parts of the cit\'. There are a large 
number of branch postoffices. 

The City Hall, in the center of City Hall Park, near the intersection 
of Broadway and Chambers Street, was built in 1803-12. Among the inter- 
esting things shown to visitors is the chair used by Washington at his 
inauguration and in which he wrote his first message to Congress. North 
of the City Hall are the Court House and other buildings used as city 
offices. On the east is the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. 

One block east of Broadway, at Franklin Street, is the City Prison, 
commonly called "the Tombs." Here persons charged with the most 



MATTERS OF INTEREST TO VISITORS. 7 

heinous crimes are confined pending trial or transportation to the State 
Penitentiary at Sing Sing. The Tombs received its name from its gloomy, 
damp and unwholesome appearance. Before it was remodeled it was 
probably the best specimen of Egyptian architecture outside of Egypt. 
Connecting the Tombs with the Criminal Court Building across the street 
is an overhead passage called the "Bridge of Sighs." 

From City Hall Park to Astor Place, or Eighth Street, Broadway is 
given up almost exclusively to wholesale drj^goods establishments. A 
block or so east of Broadway and Eighth Street is Cooper Union, a public 
institution which offers night courses in arts and sciences for persons 
who must be otherwise employed during the day time. Cooper Union 
has the largest assembly hall in the city used for public meetings. Near 
by, on Lafayette Place, is the Astor Librar^^ founded in 1848 by John 
Jacob Astor; it contains 450,000 volumes and 200,000 pamphlets. In 1895, 
the Astor, Tilden and Lenox libraries were combined and are now known 
collectively, with other smaller libraries which have since been amalga- 
mated with them, as the New York Public Library. This combined 
library has two reference branches and twenty-nine circulation branches. 
Its total number of books in 1904 exceeded 1,000,000. There was circulated 
for home use in the same year over 3,500,000 volumes. 

From Eighth Street to Thirtj'-Fourth Street, Broadway is the most 
important thoroughfare, and the eastern limit of the shopping district. 
Many of the largest retail department stores are located within this area. 
The other important streets in the shopping district are Fourteenth Street, 
Sixth Avenue, Eighteenth, Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third Streets, and 
Fifth Avenue from Twenty-Second to Thirty-Fourth Streets. 

Grace Church (Protestant Episcopal) at Broadway and ■ Eleventh 
Street, erected in 1845, is one of the most beautiful specimens of Gothic 
architecture in the city. Its interior has been decorated with great care 
and is rich in stained glass, carvings and mosaics. A large earthenware 
jar in front of the building was brought from Rome, where it was found 
40 ft. below the surface of the ground. The church is always open. 

Union Square Park is at Broadway, Fourteenth and Seventeenth 
Streets. At the southeast corner stands an excellent equestrian statue 
of Washington, by J. Q. A. Ward, and a smaller statue of Lafayette, by 
Bartholdi ; a statue of Lincoln is nearby. Two blocks east, on Fourteenth 
Street, is Tammany Hall, the home of the Tammany Society, founded in 
1789 for benevolent purposes. 

Broadway intersects Fifth Avenue at Twenty-Third and Twenty- 
Fourth Streets, opposite Madison Square Park. Here stands the tower- 
ing, wedge-shaped Fuller office building, popularly styled "flatiron." The 
extensive structure of Madison Square Garden, 425 ft. long and 200 ft. 
wide, surmounted by the statue of Mercury, by St. Gaudens, is at the 
northeast corner of Madison Square. Dr. Parkhurst's church, on Madison 
Avenue, now overtopped by the building of the Metropolitan Life In- 
surance Company, is at the southeast corner of Madison Square. Across 
Madison Avenue, in the Park, is a statue of S. S. Cox, who was overcome 
and met his death from exposure at this point in the blizzard of March 12, 



8 NEJV YORK AND JICINITY. 

1888. One of the finest statues in the city, that of Farragiit, by St. Gau- 
dens, is at the northwest corner of the park. A statue of Seward, and an 
obehsk to Worth, are near by. The Fifth Avenue Hotel, long a landmark 
of the city, is at the southwest corner of Madison Square. From Twenty- 
Third Street to Forty-Fourth Street, Broadway, is largely given over to 
hotels, restaurants, theaters and shops. 

In the vicinity of Thirty-Fifth Street and Broadway are several new 
and large department stores, and the building of the "New York Herald." 
Through large windows in the Herald Building the latest types of news- 
paper presses may be seen turning out editions of the "Herald" and "Even- 
ing Telegram." At Fifth Avenue, Thirty-Third and Thirty-Fourth Streets, 
one block east, is the fashionable Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. 

The neighborhood of Forty-Second Street and Broadway is at night 
one of the most brilliantly lighted districts in the world. It is a center 
of theaters, hotels and restaurants. At this point the new Times Building 
covers a triangular block, similar to that occupied by the Flatiron Building. 
The Hotel Astor, one of the newest and largest hotels in the city, is at 
Broadway and Forty-Fourth Street. From Forty-Fourth to Fifty-Ninth is 
the center of the automobile and horse and carriage business. Above 
Fifty-Ninth Street, Broadway, formerly called the Boulevard, is chiefly 
occupied by small temporary buildings and large apartment houses. 

WALL STREET. 

Wall Street is quite as much the name of a district as of a thorough- 
fare. In its broader sense it includes that part of the city which is chiefly 
given up to the establishments of bankers and brokers and the offices 
where the management of large industrial enterprises is carried on. By 
far the largest part of these headquarters are located in suites of rooms 
in tall buildings, although some of the most important have separate 
quarters. Wall Street received its name from the fact that it marks the 
northern limit of a wall which was built for defensive purposes around the 
city when it was under the Dutch rule. It is a short street, and as some- 
one has said, has a graveyard at one end and a river at the other. 

Among the chief points of interest is the United States Sub-Treasury 
on the corner of Nassau Street with its handsome bronze statue of Wash- 
ington, by the sculptor, Ward. On this site the first Congress met after 
adopting the constitution, and here also George Washington was inaugu- 
rated as the first President of the United States. Immense sums of money 
are stored in the basement of this building, the whole structure being 
cleverly designed to serve as a fortress in case of attack. The receipts of 
the Sub-Treasury are said to reach nearly $1,500,000,000 annually, and the 
payments about the same sum. The vaults are not open to the inspection 
of visitors. 

Close to the Sub-Treasury is the unimposing United States Assay 
office. Here vast quantities of gold are melted and handled, preparatory to 
shipment to Europe and elsewhere. Visitors are admitted between 10 A. 
M. and 3 P. M. 

The Gillender office building is on the corner of Nassau and Wall 



MATTERS OF INTEREST TO VISITORS. 9 

Streets. Across the street, in an old-fashioned white marble structure, is 
the office of J. P. Morgan, probably the most influential magnate of this 
district. The New York Custom House, with large granite columns in 
front, is further east on Wall Street. It will soon be removed to make 
room for a tall office building, a new and larger custom house being in 
course of construction at the foot of Broadway. 

On Broad Street, a few doors from the corner of Nassau Street, is the 
new York Stock Exchange, with an elaborately executed facade. The 
foundations for this building are particularly deep, and were built after the 
surrounding structures had been completed. As most of the excavation 
was through sand, the engineering difficulties were peculiarly great. On 
the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, brokers buy and sell a greater 
value of stocks than are exchanged in any other financial market. The 
membership is limited to about i,00Q. A seat, as membership is called, has 
sold for $80,000. Admission to the gallery overlooking the floor, where 
sometimes scenes of great excitement can be witnessed, can be had by card 
from a member. On the street in front of the exchange there may be wit- 
nessed between 10 and 3 during week days an animated crowd of young 
men, known as the "curb." Here stocks, sometimes not listed on the 
regular exchanges, are bought and sold with a close imitation of the in- 
cidents which occur in the other exchanges in the neighborhood. Oppo- 
site the New York Stock Exchange, on Broad Street, is a twenty-story 
office building known as the Broad Exchange. Its reputed cost was over 
$7,000,000. It is the largest office building in the city, or in the world. A 
walk through Exchange Place is like a trip through a canyon. 

The New York Clearing House, where most of the banks of the city 
adjust the balances which exist in their accounts against other banks, is 
in Cedar Street, near Broadway. The building is a handsome one, but 
visitors are not admitted to its interior. 

The Chamber of Commerce Building, a new and richly decorated 
structure, is in Liberty Street, west of Broadway. The chamber itself is 
an ancient, influential body of merchants who are pledged to foster and 
protect the commercial interests of the port. An enumeration of the va- 
rious important buildings in this vicinity would be a long list. 

FIFTH AVENUE. 
Fifth Avenue affords perhaps the most imposing show of affluence of 
all streets in the world. It has long been regarded as the most fashionable 
street in New York, and although the pretentions of its lower portion are 
gradually yielding to the encroachments of business, the major portion of 
this famous thoroughfare is still devoted to handsome residences and 
fashionable clubs, churches and hotels. From its beginning, at the hand- 
some arch commemorating Washington's inauguration as first President, 
to the Harlem River, Fifth Avenue is 6 miles long. The arch is of white 
marble, is 70 ft. high, and was built by popular subscription. From 
Twelfth to Twenty-Third Streets, tall office buildings have replaced many 
of the old residences. Some of the largest publishing houses are situated 
here. The Calumet Club is on the northeast corner of Twenty-Ninth Street. 



10 NEW YORK AND VICINITY. 

A little to the east on Twenty-Ninth Street is the " Little Church Around 
the Corner," made famous by the willingness of its pastor to perform burial 
services over the bodies of actors, for whom this office is said to be re- 
fused by the ministers of the more fashionable churches on Fifth Avenue. 

The Knickerbocker Club, one of the most aristocratic in the city, 
stands at the corner of Thirty-Second Street. The Hotel Waldorf- 
Astoria, which is said to have cost $12,000,000, occupies the block between 
Thirty-Third and Thirty-Fourth Streets. The Lotos Club, known for the 
entertainment of distinguished foreigners, stands at Forty-Sixth Street. 
The Union League Club, the leading Republican club of New York, is at 
the corner of Thirty-Ninth Street. Between Fortieth and Forty-Second 
Streets rises the large new building of the Public Library on the site of a 
Croton water reservoir which occupied this ground for many years. The 
Grand Central Station and Manhattan and Belmont Hotels are a block or 
two east on Forty-Second Street. The Temple Ern,anu El, the principal 
synagogue of New York, is at Forty-Third Street. The blocks west of 
Fifth Avenue on Forty-Third and Forty-Fourth Streets contain some of 
the largest and best known clubs of the city, including the New York Yacht 
Club, the Century and Racquet Club and the New York Academy of Medi- 
cine. Sherry's and Delmonico's restaurants are on opposite corners of 
Forty-Fourth Street. On the corner of Forty-Eighth Street is a Dutch 
Reformed Church, which is generally recognized as one of the most grace- 
ful and artistic churches in the city. St. Patrick's Cathedral, at Fiftieth 
Street, is said to be the most important ecclesiastical edifice in the new 
world. It is 400 ft. in length, 125 ft. wide and 112 ft. high. It can hold 
5,000 people. 

On the northeast corner of Fifty-First Street is the Union Club, one 
of the wealthiest and most exclusive in the city. Two large brown stone 
houses on the west side of Fifth Avenue, between Fifty-First and Fifty- 
Second Streets, were built by W. H. Vanderbilt. The home of William K. 
Vanderbilt, one of the most beautiful in New York, is on the northwest 
corner of Fifty-Second Street. At Fifty-Third Street is the University Club. 
At Fifty-Fifth Street St. Thomas' Church is on one corner and Hotel St. 
Regis on another.* The home of the late C. P. Huntington is on the south- 
east corner of Fifty-Seventh Street, and the home of Mrs. Cornelius 
Vanderbilt is on the northwest corner. 

At Fifty-Ninth Street, Fifth Avenue meets Central Park in a large 
open space called the Plaza. Here are the Hotel Netherlands, Savoy 
and Plaza. The last named building is about to be demolished in 
order to make room for one still larger. At the entrance of Cen- 
tral Park at Sixtieth Street is a new and pretentious equestrian statue 
of General W. T. Sherman. At the corner of Sixtieth Street is the 
Metropolitan, sometimes called the "Millionaires" Club. Eldbridge T. 
Gerry's house is one door above on the same block. The Progress Club is 
at Sixty-Third Street, the Havemeyer house is at Sixty-Sixth Street, and 
the Brokaw house is at Seventy-Ninth Street. Senator W. A. Clark's 



* This church was destroyed by fire August 10. 



MATTERS OF INTEREST TO VISITORS. 11 

house is on the corner of Seventy-Seventh Street. The east entrance to 
Central Park menagerie is in Sixty-Sixth Street. The Lenox Library, now 
merged into the New York Public Library, is at Seventieth and Seventy- 
First Streets. Besides its large collection of reference works, there are 
many objects of special interest here, including probably the first book 
printed with movable types, the first book printed in English, the first 
book printed in the United States, and many other rare books. An art gal- 
lery is connected with the library. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is 
at Eight^'-Second Street and Fifth Avenue. Andrew Carnegie's house is 
at Ninetieth Street. 



MUSEUMS, MONUMENTS AND PARKS. . 

New York is peculiarly fortunate in its museums. There are but three 
museums of general interest to tourists, and these are among the most 
extensive and complete of their kind to be found anj'where. The Ameri- 
can Museum of Natural History occupies a portion of the large block 
bounded by Seventy-Seventh and Eighty-First Streets, Columbus Avenue 
and Central Park West. It is the plan to occupy the whole of this space 
eventually, but at the present time only a fraction of the contemplated 
building has been completed ; but the portion now standing covers a very 
large area of ground. The main entrance is on Seventy-Seventh Street. 
The value of the collections exceeds $5,000,000. The arrangements of the 
exhibits and their completeness, particularly those of the woods and stones 
of North America, insects, gems, mounted birds and large animals, are 
particularly fine. The stuffed skin of Jvtmbo and other celebrated show 
animals are exhibited. The Museum is open from 9 A. M. to 5 :30 P. M. 
on week days, and after i P. M. on Sundays. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art at Eighty-Second Street and Fifth 
Avenue is the principal ornament of the cit}^ The value of its exhibits 
cannot be estimated, for many of its objects are not replaceable. Of partic- 
ular interest are the Phoenician and Greek art antiquities (the largest and 
most complete collection of this kind in the world), the historical collec- 
tion of glass, musical instruments and the collection of ancient and modern 
pictures, including examples of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, Velas- 
quez, Reubens, Meissonier, Detaille, Rosa Bonheur and Corot. The 
Museum is free from 10 A. M. to 6 P. M. except on Mondays and Fridays, 
when a fee of 25 cents is charged. The Sundav hours are from i to 
5 P. M. 

The museum of the Historical Society of New York is at the corner 
of Second Avenue and East Eleventh Street. The building contains a 
large number of valuable volumes, pamphlets and manuscripts relating to 
American . history and American genealogies, and busts and portraits of 
distinguished men. The art gallery contains probably the second largest 
collection of sculpture and paintings by old and modern masters in 
America. It is open from 9 A. M. to 6 P. M. throughout the year, except 
in August. 

The most imposing monument in New York is the tomb of General 



MATTERS OF INTEREST TO J'ISITORS. !3 

Grant, at Riverside Drive, on the banks of the Hudson, at 125th Street. 
This is a massive structure of Hght Maine granite, with a conical dome 
and severe facade ; it is inscribed with the well-known quotation, "Let us 
have peace." The tomb was built in 1892-97 from a fund to which 90,000 
persons contributed. At Riverside Drive and Eighty-Ninth Street is a 
graceful white marble monument, with handsome approaches, commemorat- 
ing the soldiers and sailors of New York who took part in the War of the 
Rebellion. It was built by the city. Nearby is a statue of Lafayette, given 
by the school children of the city. 

Central Park is the most frequented and popular of the large breath- 
ing spaces in New York. It occupies 840 acres of ground. It is four 
times as long as broad and lies between Fifty-Ninth Street and iioth 
Street and Fifth Avenue and Eighth Avenue. It was designed in 1858 by 
Olmstead and Vaux. There are twenty entrances ; about 10 miles of 
driveways extend, with occasional intersections, along both sides of the 
park. The drive on the east side is the more fashionable and more fre- 
quented. There are four principal ponds or lakes, on some of which boat- 
ing is allowed in summer and skating in winter. The possibilities for 
landscape effects throughout the park are developed to a high point. 
There are two taverns or restaurants in the park, one known as McGown's 
Pass Tavern and the other the Casino. Both are near the east drive. 
Altogether there are about 30 miles of foot paths. The principal points of 
interest are the Mall, Terrace, Bethesda Fountain, Cleopatra's Needle, 
Ramble, Seventy-Second Street Lake, Menagerie, American Museum of 
Natural Historjr, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and reservoirs. 

A system of reservoirs for distributing Croton water covers an area 
of 143 acres, and lies in the center of the park. They can be reached from 
the East Eighty-Second Street or West Eighty-First Street entrances. A 
view of the reservoirs may be had from the Belvedere, a stone building 
situated on top of a natural eminence near the center of the park. The 
park may conveniently be seen from park carriages, in which seats can be 
had at the Fifty-Ninth Street and Fifth Avenue entrance, or at Fifty- 
Ninth Street and Eighth Avenue, for a tour of the park for 25 cents. 

Riverside Park, with its beautiful drive and handsome residences, 
skirts the Hudson River for over 3 miles, from Seventy-Second Street 
to 130th Street, and is being extended. The residence of Charles M. 
Schwab is at Seventy-Second Street, and that of Bishop Potter is at 
Eighty-Ninth Street. At the northern end of the drive is the excellent 
Claremont restaurant, just north of Grant's Tomb. A fine view of the 
Palisades from the west can be had from this point. Near the upper part 
of Riverside Drive is Columbia University, recognizable from the low, flat 
dome of its library building. Near Grant's Tomb and Columbia Uni- 
versity is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Protestant Episcopal) at 
Amsterdam Avenue and iioth Street. It is estimated that this structure 
will cost $6,000,000, and take fifty years to build. It will be 520 ft. long, 
172 ft. wide, and its tower 445 ft. high. The beautiful crypt, hewn out of 
the solid rock, is open to visitors on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 
from 4 to 6 P. M. St. Luke's hospital is close at hand. Park stages can 



14 NEW YORK AND JICINITY. 

be taken from Seventy-Second Street and Riverside Drive to Grant's 
Tomb and vicinity. 

A viaduct across the narrow Manhattan valley at 130th Street permits 
carriages to cross from Riverside Drive to Washington Heights. At 
158th Street the drive along the Hudson enters Ft. Washington Park and 
becomes the Boulevard Lafayette. At the northern termination of this 
boulevard is Dyckeman Street, which connects with the Speedway, a long, 
broad avenue at the edge of the Harlem River, especially built to afford 
a speeding place for fast trotting and pacing horses. Automobiles, trucks 
and bicycles are not permitted upon this thoroughfare. The time to see 
the speeding of horses at its best is about 11 o'clock on Sunday mornings. 
A tour of Riverside Drive, Boulevard Lafayette, the Speedway and Cen- 
tral Park is a long afternoon's carriage drive. 

A number of large parks have been laid out in the less settled sections, 
but are not yet fully developed. Among these are Van Cortlandt and 
Bronx Parks, near the northern limits of the city, and Pelharh Bay Park, 
on the shores of Long Island Sound. In the neighborhood of Van Cort- 
landt Park are the new botanical gardens with an extensive herbarium and 
museum. The New York Zoological Gardens are near by. Here an at- 
tempt has been made on a large scale to imitate the conditions of nature 
in the surroundings of the wild animals which are exhibited. 

THE WATER FRONT. 

The chief points of interest on the Manhattan water front, beginning 
at the Battery and proceeding up the Hudson River, are the following: 
Battery Park, a small but popular open space which gives an excellent 
view of the upper harbor and shipping, and contains the Aquarium, in 
the circular Castle Garden, one of the defenses of the city built in the war 
of 1812. At this time the land on which the Aquarium now stands was an 
island, 200 ft. from shore. The Aquarium is free to visitors between 10 and 
4 daily. At the Battery stands the statue of John Ericsson, the famous 
Swedish engineer, the designer of the "Monitor" of Civil War fame. 
Ericsson is said to have been the first to apply the screw propeller to 
steam navigation, in 1836-41. From Pier A, North River, northwards, 
are numerous piers and bulkheads for the extensive terminal and highly 
developed facilities for receiving and shipping the freight brought or dis- 
patched by the railroads terminating at New York harbor. Conveniences 
are also provided here for millions of passengers who travel by ferries, 
steamships and steamboats across the neighboring waters. In this vicinity 
are located the piers of some of the largest trans-Atlantic steamship lines, 
including the White Star and Cunard Companies. The Hudson River 
Tunnel, begun twenty-five years ago from Hoboken, reaches the Manhattan 
shore at Morton Street, near the Hoboken ferry. 

The city's largest meat, produce and shell-fish market. West Washing- 
ton Market, is situated near Twelfth Street. From Fourteenth to Twenty- 
Second Streets are the landing places of large ice and lumber companies. 
The water front thus far may conveniently be seen from the decks of the 
Coney Island boats. From Twenty-Ninth to Thirty-Eighth Streets is an 



MATTERS OF INTEREST TO VISITORS. 15 

immense freight yard of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad. 
From Forty-Third to Seventy-Second Streets are extensive slaughter 
houses, stock yards, gas houses, freight yards and grain elevators. From 
Seventy-Second to 129th Streets the river is bordered by Riverside Park 
At and near 130th Street are ferries to New Jersey, a recreation pier and 
various commercial enterprises. Above this point, as far as 158th Street, 
the shore line is undeveloped. From 158th Street to 219th Street is Fort 
Washington Park. The land at Fort Washington is 240 ft. above the water. 
The Boulevard Lafayette, running high along the side of a steep slope, 
affords a magnificent view of the Palisades across the Hudson. From this 
point to the south end of Staten Island the air line length of New York 
City is about 35 miles. The Harlem River cuts Manhattan Island from 
the main land a little above Fort Washington. 

Starting again at the Battery and passing up the East River, the chief 
points of interest on the Manhattan shore begin with a cluster of seven 
ferries and many small government bureau headquarters which lie close 
to Battery Park. A little farther up the river are canal boat wharves and 
piers, where man}^ of the largest sailing vessels from South America and 
Eastern ports find wharfage. At Fulton Street is the principal fish market 
of the city. Further on are a number of large pontoon and sectional dry 
docks. At the foot of East Sixteenth Street are reception hospitals for 
contagious diseases, and the laboratories and disinfecting stations of the 
Board of Health. At Twenty-Sixth to Twenty-Eighth Streets are the 
buildings of Bellevue Hospital, the largest hospital in the city. Ferries for 
Blackwell's, Hart's, Randall's and Ward's Islands leave this point. At 
East Seventy-First Street a tunnel from Long Island under the East River 
brings illuminating gas to Manhattan Island. Jefferson Park is at 112th 
Street. The Harlem River enters the East River at 127th Street. 

The points of interest along the Long Island and Brookljm shore in- 
clude some of the largest commercial enterprises in New York. Half of 
the sugar consumed in the United States is refined in Brooklyn. One re- 
finery alone, the largest in the world, treats 2,000 tons of raw sugar per 
day, producing 12,000,000 lbs. of the refined product. This refinery occu- 
pies the water front from South First Street to South Fifth Street, as well 
as several blocks on Kent Avenue. This is opposite East Twenty-Third 
Street, Manhattan. Further south, along the Brooklyn water front is the 
Brooklyn Navy Yard. A good view of the East River shores and shipping 
can be had from the ferries of the Long Island Railroad, which ply be- 
tween Pier 13, East River, near the foot of Wall Street, and Long Island 
City ; fare, 10 cents. 

Near Governor's Island, on the Brooklyn shore, is the extensive prop- 
erty of the Brooklyn Wharf and Warehouse Companj^ whose capital is 
$30,000,000. The facilities for handling freight here are among the most 
extensive in the harbor. The ships of fifty regular lines dock at the 
wharves of this company. New York is one of the most extensive grain 
handling ports in the world, and stores four-fifths of the grain brought to 
this harbor in Brooklyn. The capacity of the grain elevators exceeds 
20,000,000 bushels. The largest are Dows, at Columbia and Pacific Streets. 



IB NEJV YORK AND VICINITY. 

It is estimated that the total transfer capacity of the stationary and floating- 
grain elevators in New York harbor exceeds 160,000 bushels per hour. 
The Atlantic Basin, acknowledged to be the largest grain depot in the 
world, with a frontage of bulkheads and piers of over 3 miles, lies south of 
Governor's Island. This point can be reached via the Hamilton Ferry from 
the Battery. The Erie Basin lies still further south ; it contains about loo 
acres on the bay, and is protected by a bulkhead a mile long. Here are 
numerous piers and elevators, two of the latter being employed for han- 
dling nitrate of soda, potash and similar substances. The Erie Basin dry 
docks are the largest in New York. Most of the iron ships which require 
docking at New York are cared for here. Dock No. 2 has a length of 610 
ft., and a width of 124 ft. at top and 60 ft. at bottom. Beyond this point 
are numerous shipping and boat building establishments, yacht club an- 
chorages, and finally, a succession of summer pleasure resorts. 

An excellent view of the New York water front may be had from the 
"Seeing New York Yacht," which leaves the foot of West Twenty-Third 
Street twice daily, and makes the circuit of Manhattan Island. Inquire of 
American Sight-Seeing Coach & Boat Company, Twenty-Third Street and 
Broadway. 

The circuit of the Staten Island water front exceeds 50 miles in length. 
Most of this coast is not yet utilized ; it is low and marshy, with shallow 
water along the shores. Beginning at St. George, the point nearest Man- 
hattan Island, and following the shore to the west, there are several large 
manufacturing establishments. The largest mill in the white lead trust is 
here, Jewetts ; and the Dean Linseed Oil Mills, the most important in the 
linseed oil trust, are near b}^. At Mariner's Harbor is the largest flouring 
mill in the eastern States, which belongs to the Jores-Hecker-Jewel! syn- 
dicate. The portable railroad manufacturing establishment of the C. W. 
Hunt Company, and several ship building yards and other industries are 
near by. The principal ferry for Staten Island leaves the Battery for St. 
George every half hour ; fare, 5 cents. 



Water Works of Greater New York* 



RESERVOIRS, DAMS AND AQUEDUCTS 

OF THE 

CROTON WATER SYSTEM. 

(With Map Showing Locations.) 

The New Croton dam is on the Croton River, about 6 miles from its 
mouth and 35 miles from New York. Above this lowest dam are ten 
large dams, besides several secondary dams or dykes, one large dam in 
course of construction and another which is to be advertised for con- 
struction early in the fall, thus making thirteen principal dams on the river 
and its tributaries. Designs for a great dam across the Croton at Quaker 
Bridge, or the Cornell site, were studied as early as 1882. Cornell site, 
about lyl miles above Quaker Bridge, was finally chosen, and construction 
begun in September, 1892 ; it is expected that the dam and all the appur- 
tenances of the reservoir will be completed by the end of this year. The 
accompanying tables give the principal figures of interest for the Croton 
dams and reservoirs, and the map shows their locations, together with, 
some other features of the Croton watershed. A cross-section of the New 
Croton dam is also shown. 

New Croton dam is the highest and largest masonry dam in the 
world, containing approximately 850,000 cu. yds. of masonry. Only about 
one-half the height of the main part of the dam appears above the 
ground, and, roughly, two-thirds of the mass of (his portion are below the 
earth's surface. Approximately 1,750,000 cu. yds. of earth and 425,000 cu. 
yds. of rock excavation were required. The reservoir is nearly 20 miles 
long, and its total contents when full are about 38,000,000,000 gals., of which 
ordinarily 20,000,000 gals, are available. Over 32 miles of new high- 
ways and 21 steel bridges have been built in connection with this reservoir. 
Four of these bridges are noteworthy for their size. Hunter's Brook 
bridge has two spans of 217 ft. and one of 310 ft. At the Old Croton dam 
there is a 1241^-ft. plate girder span, and a 396-ft. truss. Pines bridge is 
a cantilever with two i6o-ft. shore spans, and a m.ain span of 384 ft. A 
county highway traverses the top of the dam and is carried over the 
v^aste channel on a 200-ft. steel arch. Nearly 75 miles of stone walls 
enclose the land required for this reservoir. When the new reservoir is 
full, the Old Croton dam, about 3 miles above the new dam, will be sub- 
merged to a depth of 34 ft. 

A short distance upstream from its middle the New Croton reservoir 
is very narrow, and above this place the water is shallow over large areas, 
even when the reservoir is full. Consequently the Muscoot dam has been 
built here to hold the water at full reservoir level ordinarily. In emer- 
gency this upper basin can be drawn down through a gate house in the 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 



19 



dam. The overfall of the dam is 950 ft. long, and all the natural flow of 
the river and the water drawn from the reservoirs above will pass over it. 
A large gate house, finished about 1890, at a cost of nearly $750,000, 
situated just below the Old Croton dam, controls the flow of water into 
the Old and New Croton aqueducts, through which it flows to the city. 



Ga-fe House No. a 




MAXIMUM SECTION 

NEW CROTON DAM. 



The old gate house controlling the old aqueduct is submerged by the new 
reservoir, and consequently has been partially dismantled. The old aque- 
duct has a capacity of about 80,000,000 gals, daily, was completed in 1842, 
and is approximately 34 miles long, 2 miles of earth and 2 miles of rock 
tunnels and 30 miles in trench or on embankment. Its interior dimensions 
are "jVz ft. wide by 8 ft. high, area of cross-section about 53 sq. ft., and its 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 



21 



slope 1314 ins. per mile. For most of its length it has an 8-in. brick arch, 
a 4-in. brick invert on concrete and rubble side walls, lined with one 
course of brick. Its total cost, including land, was $12,000,000. Between 
the old and new dams, the old aqueduct, being in the new reservoir, has 
been strengthened and the parts on embankments replaced by loops follow- 
ing the contour of the hillside on natural ground. 

New Croton aqueduct, nearly 31 miles long, is almost wholly in deep 
rock tunnel, only a little over i mile being in trench or on embankment, 
and terminates at the i3Sth Street gate house, near the northerly end of 
the main part of Manhattan Island. Old Croton aqueduct has also been 
connected into this gate house, and from this place water is conveyed to 
Central Park distributing reservoirs and various points of connection with 
the pipe system through eight 48-in. cast-iron mains. For about three- 
quarters of its length the new aqueduct has a horseshoe cross-section 13.6 
ft. wide and 13.53 ft- high, maximum inside dimensions, with an area of 
154 sq. ft., and a slope of 0.7 ft. per mile. The lining is brick, with brick 
or rubble backing, mostly. Gould's swamp siphon is circular, 14.25 ft. in 
diameter, 1,135 ft- long. For 36,080 ft., from a point north of Jerome Park 
reservoir to 135th Street, the aqueduct is under pressure, and circular, 
being 12.25 ft- diameter, excepting the 1,300 ft. under the Harlem River, 
10.5 ft. diameter. The maximum capacity of the equeduct when clean is 
about 300,000,000 gals, daily. Forty-two shafts were sunk for driving the 
tunnels. The new aqueduct was first put into service July 15, 1890, and 
was transferred to the Department of Public Works (now Department of 
Water Supply, Gas and Electricity) June 24, 1891. Its total cost, exclusive 
of land and engineering, was approximately $20,000,000. In its construc- 
tion 2,260,000 cu. yds. of earth and rock were excavated, and 904,000 cu. 
yds. of masonry built. 



RESERVOIRS 


ON CROTON WATERSHED. 




Name of Reservoir or 
Controlled Pond. 


Year First 
Filled and 
Available. 


Elevation 
of Spill- 
way Crest, 
Croton 
Datum. 


Available 

Capacity 

at this' 

Elevation, 

m.g. 


Area 
Water 
Surface 
at this 
Elevation, 
sq . m . 


Area of 
Tributary 
Watershed' 

sq. m. 


Available 
Depth for 
Drawing 
Water, ft. 


White Pond 


1899 
1873 
1870 
1870 
1895 
1878 
1891 
1891 
1893 
1870 
1870 
1897 
1870 
1842 
1905 


593!' 

779. 

506. 

503. 

372. 

415. 

415. 

325. 

583. 

660. 

400 

497. 

166.2 

200. 


200 

2,727 

170 

165 

10,070 

4,005 

4,145 

4,883 

7,167 

565 

575 

7,678 

380 

700 

20,000 


0.18 
0.44 
0.11 
0.28 
1.56 
0.67 
0.64 
0.90 
1.10 
0.16 
0.88 
0.94 
0.19 
0.76 
5.33 


0.90 

21.43 

0.50 

0.80 

19.51 

20.51 

76.90 

22.80 
2.00 
2.50 
18.32 
0.60 
159.3 
180.9 


7.4 
40 




Barrett's Pond 


g 




5 


West Branch or Carmel 

Middle Branch 


40. 

48 


Ea.stBranch^{fo§„Brook- 


45. 
60. 
65 




19 




3 


Amawalk or Muscoot 


50. 

12 


Old Croton 




New Croton 


46. 


I'otal 






72,730 




360.4 









WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 



23 



PRINCIPAL DAMS ON CROTON WATERSHED. 



Boyd's Corners. . 

Carmsl 

Middle Branch . . 

Sodom 

Bog Brook, No. 1. 

Titicus 

Amawalk 

Old Croton 



New Croton 

Muscoot 

Carmel Au.xiliarv. 



Alasonry with 
earth backing. 

Earth with ma- 
sonry spillway. 

Earth, rubble 
core. 

Masonry and 
earth. 

Earth, rubble 
core. 

Earth and ma- 
sonry. 

Earth, rubble 
core. 

Earth and ma- 
sonry on crib, 
with earth 
backing. 

Masonry. 

Masonry. 

Earth, rubble 
core . • 



a ■ 
o 




C/2 


670 


670 


135. 


1810 


1550 


260. 


515 


515 


100. 




50C 


500. 


1314 


1314 


None 


1519 


336 


200. 


1270 




50. 


460 


293 


251.4 


2168 
1130 
725 


1168 
'725 


1000. 
950. 



■5-2 ffi^ 

CO ::: :3 



1314 
983 



297 
55 
725 67 



o & 
c3 



U 



593. 
503. 
370. 
415. 



325. 
400. 
166.2 



216 200. 
210. 200. 
515! 






2i: 



2: 1 upstr. 
2.5: 1 down 



■yS 



2.4: 



1 upstr. 25. 

down 
1 upstr.: 18. 
2.5: 1 down! 
5: 1 upstr. '50. 
1 down 

10. 



2: 1 upstr. 
2.36:1 down 



- "fa 



57. 
245. 
660. 

55. 
240. 

83. 
680. 

64. 



206. 

38.5 
260. 



COSTS OF SOME CROTON RESERVOIRS. 

DOUBLE RESERVOIR ON THE EAST BRANCH. 

(Sodom and Bog Brook.) 



Construction 
Engineering- 
Land 



Legal expenses 



Total 

Cost per million gallons stored, $219. 

CARMEL OR WEST BRANCH RESERVOIR. 

Construction 

Engineering 

Land 

Legal expenses 



Total 

Cost per million gallons stored, $166. 

TITICUS RESERVOIR. 

Construction 

Engineering , 

Land 

Legal expenses 



Total 

Cost per million gallons stored, $253. 



$890,696 
161,550 
685,420 
243.992 

$1,981,658 



$818,637 
155.669 

511,963 
180,604 

$1,666,873 



$1,078,073 
103,292 
512,284 
116,304 

$1,809,953 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 25 

NEW CROTON RESERVOIR. 

Construction $9,200,000 

Engineering and legal expenses, assumed 1,500,000 

Land 4,500,000 



Total $15,200,000 

Cost per million total gallons stored, $507. 

The figures for the Carmel and Ticticus reservoirs do not include 
preliminary surveys nor borings, and those for the New Croton reservoir 
are partially estimated, since the work is not quite completed. The New 
Croton dam will have cost, when completed, for construction alone, about 
$7,500,000. 

CROSS RIVER AND CROTON FALLS RESERVOIRS. 

(The Further Developme,nt of the Croton Watershed.) 

Dilatoriness in building additional water works for the Metropolis has 
brought on the necessity of getting more v^ter, if practicable, from the 
present sources, especially the Croton, in the shortest possible time. Dur- 
ing the past twelve months, Mr. J. Waldo Smith, chief engineer of the 
Aqueduct Commissioners, has had made careful studies of the develop- 
ment of the Croton watershed and surveys of available reservoir sites. 
Computations indicated that, under the emergency conditions existing, a 
further storage capacity of 20,000,000,000 to 30,000,000,000 gals, might ad- 
visably be provided, especially if the reservoirs could be constructed verj^ 
quickly, so as to be useful during the six or seven years which must inter- 
vene before the Catskill supply can be made even partially available. The 
storage per square mile on the east side of the watershed is much less 
than on the other parts. On the Cross River, one of the eastern tributaries, 
a good reservoir site had long been known, but the dam had never been 
built. Another site for a high dam. about a mile above Croton Falls Vil- 
lage, promises fairly well and is being examined. It is on the West Branch 
just below its confluence with the Middle Branch; but the surplus water 
is in the East Branch, and so a small diverting dam and a channel or 
conduit about one mile long will be necessary. If built here, the Croton 
Falls reservoir will have a capacity of about 14,000,000,000 gals., and a 
masonry dam nearly 175 ft. high and 1,100 ft. long. 

June 21, 1905, the contract for the Cross River reservoir was signed, 
and it is to be completed in 26 calendar months. MacArthur Brothers 
Company and Winston & Company are the contractors. Work is now 
actively in progress and can be reached by trains from the Grand Central 
Station to Katonah, on the Harlem Branch of the New York Central 
Railroad. The reservoir will have a capacity of 9,000,000,000 gals., a length 
of zVa miles, and a maximum depth of 130 ft. Cyclopean masonry is 
being used in the dam, and it will be faced with concrete blocks. It will 
be 865 ft. long, with a maximum height above foundation of 160 ft., a 
thickness at top of 17 ft, and a maximum thickness at bottom of 114 ft. It 



26 



NEW YORK AND VICINITY. 



will contain about 135,000 cu. yds. of masonry. A waste weir 240 ft. long 
will extend along the rocky hillside from a bastion at the northeasterly 
end of the dam. An accompanying cut shows a section of the dam. The 
total cost of construction for the reservoir will be about $1,250,000. 

During the past 18 years the flow of the Croton River has been 30 per 



170---^ 




MAXIMUM SECTION OF DAM 
CROSS Rn'ER D.\^r. CKOTON WATER WORKS. 



cent, greater, on the average, than for the preceding 18 years, 1869 to 1886, 
and 11^2 per cent, greater than the average for 2,^ years. In 1901, 1902 and 
1903 the flow was excessively high. These facts have masked the necessity 
for further works to meet the consumption in a series of dry years, which 
may occur at any time. 

The following table sliows the distribution of storage on the Croton 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 27 

watershed after the completion of the Cross River and Croton Falls 
reservoirs : 

DISTRIBUTION OF STORAGE ON CROTON WATERSHED. 

Storage Per Square Mile, 
Portion of Watershed. Million Gallons. 

West Branch 343 

Middle Branch 203 

Amavifalk 420 

TiticLis 314 

East Branch 117 

New Croton, alone 212 

Cross River 276 

Croton Falls, combining East, Middle and West 

branches 250 

Total watershed above New Croton dam 244 

The building of additional reservoirs in the Croton watershed, be3'ond 
those now planned, wonld serve no useful purpose. 

The chief engineers of the New Crotoii works have been successively 
Benjamin S. Church, Alphonse Fteley, William R. Hill, J. Waldo Smith 
and Walter H. Sears, the latter having been made acting chief engineer to 
succeed Mr. Smith, August i, 1905. when Mr. Smith became chief engineer 
of the new Board of Water Supply. 

HIGH BRIDGE, WATER TOWER, HARLEM TUNNEL AND SHAFT 25. 

Between I72d and i82d Streets, at the Harlem River, is an interesting 
group of structures, most conspicuous among them Washington Bridge and 
High Bridge, spanning the railroads, the river and the Speedway. Access is 
had by railroad from the Grand Central Station or by combinations of ele- 
vated, subway and surface cars. Washington Bridge is described on another 
page. High Bridge is a noble masonry structure 1,450 ft. long, of 15 arches, 
eight of 80 ft. span, and seven of 50 ft., with its top about 120 ft. above the 
river. Ten of the piers are oti pile foundations. It was finished in Novem- 
ber, 1848, but its top was built higher in 1863. Its upper part contains 
pipes laid to carry the water of the Old Croton aqueduct. Its total cost 
was about $i,ooo.coo. 

Near the westerly end of High Bridge, is a small high-service reser- 
voir, and beside it a picturesque stone water tower, visible from consider- 
able distances in many directions. North of the bridge is a long, low, red 
brick structure ; this is the 179th Street pumping station of the Department 
of Waaler Supph'. The new aqueduct also crosses the Harlem at this 
place, but in a tunnel about 300 ft. below mean tide, between two shafts 
designated as Nos. 24 and 25. An ornamental granite building has been 
built as a head house over Shaft 25, on the Manhattan side, in which a 
pneumatic deep well pumping plant has been installed for removing water 
from the shafts and tunnel whenever necessar}^ for inspection or repair. 
No. 25 is a double shaft, the northerly well being the aqueduct, and the 
southerly the pump well, both 12.25 ft. diameter. A bronze gate 1.67 x 2.5 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 29 

ft., 417 ft. below the top of the shaft, connects the two wells. The pump 
shaft is lined with iron, and extends 21.75 ft. below the tunnel. Originally 
an engine-driven bucket hoist with two 1,390-gal. buckets was installed, 
but this required too much time. In 1903-04 the Pneumatic Engineering 
Company, under contract, put in a pump on the Harris system, comprising 
a twin-connected 27 x 48-in. Comstock compressor, driven by a 24 x 48-in. 
horizontal Corliss engine, an air switch, an auxiliary compressor, four 
large steel tanks at the bottom of the shaft, and the necessary air and 
water pipes. The tanks are worked in pairs, being alternately filled with 
water and emptied by the action of compressed air, which, by the switch, 
is directed cyclicly into one tank and then another. The apparatus is re- 
quired to raise 2,500,000 gals. 337 ft. in 12 hours. It cost nearly $50,000. 
Steam is supplied from the 179th Street pumping station. 

The hydraulic gradient of the aqueduct (elevation 131) is between the 
top of the roof and the cornice of the tower of the head house, and so each 
well contains near its top a masonry diaphragm 9 ft. thick, pierced by a 
manhole closed by double, bolted' covers. Shaft 26, a short distance west 
of Shaft 25, rises above the hydraulic gradient; consequently two 48-in. 
overflow pipes were laid from it to the river, passing through a gate 
chamber at the side of the Speedway, through which also passes a 48-in. 
hlow-off pipe from Shaft 25. There is also a blow-off chamber at Shaft 
24, on the Bronx side, near Washington Bridge, and there are several other 
blow-off chambers distributed along the aqueduct. Near the east end of 
High Bridge is an office building, occupied by the Department of Water 
- Supply. 

JEROME PARK RESERVOIR. 

When, a generation ago, the city's consumption of Croton water had 
grown to be equivalent to the capacity of the Old Croton aqueduct, it was 
found that the distributing reservoirs within the city were not large 
enough to permit shutting off the aqueduct, even for the few days needed 
for cleaning and inspection. A serious break would have been most dis- 
astrous. Consequently when the new works were planned it was decided 
to include in the system a very large distributing reservoir to be built at 
Jerome Park, a driving park in the Bronx, near the Yonkers line. After 
much delay, construction was begun in 1895, but has progressed so slowly 
that the reservoir is still far from completion, and again the city's con- 
sumption has overtaken the aqueduct capacity. Consequent!}', the New 
Croton aqueduct has not been emptied for thorough cleaning and inspec- 
tion since it was finally put into service. Energetic efforts for the current 
two years will probably compass the completion by November of the 
western basin of the two, into which the reservoir is divided. It has been 
recommended by the late chief and the consulting engineers that the com- 
pletion of the easterly basin be delayed until the question of filtration of the 
Croton water be decided, and that then its design be modified to make at 
least a part of it a covered reservoir for filtered water. 

Jerome Park reservoir will be one of the largest artificial distributing 
reservoirs in the world. Its capacity will be nearly 2,000,000,000 gals., its 
water surface area 241 acres, its water depth 25.5 ft., its extreme length 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 31 

5,800 ft., its greatest width 2,650 ft. The east basin has an area of 147 
acres, and a capacity of 1,175,000,000 gals.; the west basin an area of 94 
acres, and a capacitj^ of 771,000,000 gals. Bj^ far the greater part of the 
reservoir is in excavation, requiring the removal of over 4,000,000 cu. yds. 
of earth and about 3,000,000 cu. yds. of rock, the maximum cut being 65 
ft, and the average about 18.5 ft. The perimeter will have 5,000 ft. of 
breast wall, and 9,900 ft. of embankment with rubble core and concrete 
slope paving, the total distance around being 2.8 miles. The division wall 
is 4,200 ft. long, and contains the rebuilt portion of the Old Croton aque- 
duct, crossing the reservoir, and the conduits for the circulation of the 
water. 

A large variety of construction work is now going on. The reservoir 
can be reached in about an hour from the Grand Central Station, by 
taking Sixth or Ninth Avenue elevated to i5Sth Street and transferring to 
Jerome Avenue trolley cars overhead, on Central Bridge. The latter cars 
pass close along the easterly side of the reservoir. 

At the northeast corner of the reservoir is a granite building on a 
high knoll, built for the use of the engineers during construction, and the 
keeper subsequently. Just below, beside Jerome Avenue, is a large high- 
service pumping station recently completed by the Department of Water 
Supply. Van Cortlandt Park, one of the largest in the cit\', with its golf 
links and polo grounds, lies just north of the reservoir. The total cost, if 
finished as now planned, will be approximately $7,500,000 exclusive of land, 
which cost nearly $3,500,000. An accompanying general plan shows the 
arrangement of the reservoir and its seven gate houses. 

Connection with the New Croton aqueduct, which passes beneath the 
reservoir bottom at a depth of approximately 100 ft., is accomplished by 
a cut-and-cover aqueduct, starting from a point where the New Croton 
aqueduct is near the surface of the ground, about 5,600 ft. north of the 
reservoir. Aqueduct North, as it is called, is of horseshoe section 11.40 ft. 
wide by 13.53 ft. high inside, extends from gate house No. i at the New 
Croton aqueduct, through gate house No. 7 at the northern extremity of 
the reservoir, to gate house No. 5, the great central controlling gate house. 
In gate house No. 7, provision has been made for connections with future 
low-service aqueducts, if they should ever be built. Gate house No. 6, at 
the southern extremity, is a connection with the old aqueduct, which also 
passes through gate houses Nos. 7 and 5. From gate houses 2, 3 and 4, 
pipe lines extend to connections with the distribution pipe sj^stem, and 
these gate houses are in turn connected by pipes with gate house No. 5. 
A small overflow chamber has been built on the northwest side of the 
reservoir and connected with a large sewer. Superstructures for the gate 
chambers are now being designed by Trowbridge & Livingston, architects, 
of New York. Shaft 21 of the New Croton aqueduct is 227 ft. west of 
gate house No. 5, in the reservoir. A circular stone structure has been 
built over it, up to the same height as the gate house sub-structures, and an 
II ft. circular conduit laid beneath the reservoir bottom to connect the 
shaft with the gate house. Over this conduit an arched causeway has been 
erected. 



\\\-iTER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 33 

Both basins of the reservoir are to be paved with concrete 6 ins. thick 
on the bottom, and 12 and 18 ins. thick on the embankment slopes. Of all 
kinds of masonry about 535,000 en. yds. will have been used, if the reservoir 
is completed as now designed. 

CENTRAL PARK RESERVOIRS. 

The reservoirs in Central Park receive water from both the new and the 
old aqueducts, and are used merely as distributing reservoirs to equalize 
the variation in consumption and to have a small supply in reserve, at the 
present rate of consumption about enough for four days' supply. 

There are two reservoirs, the "old" and the "new." The "old reser- 
voir"' covers an area of 31 acres and is divided into two parts, but they 
are commonly connected and used together. This reservoir was built 
about 65 years ago, at the same time as the Old Croton aqueduct, and 
water was let into it for the first time on June 27, 1842, a great day for 
the people of New York. It has a capacity of 200,000,000 gals. The "new 
reservoir" was built for use with the New Croton aqueduct and was first 
put into service in 1890. It covers an area of 96 acres and has a capacity 
of 1,000,000,000 gals. It is at an elevation of about 115 ft. From these two 
r-eservoirs pipes lead to all parts of the city that are of suitable elevation 
to be supplied by gravity. The higher portions of the city are supplied by 
the pumping stations at 179th Street, High Bridge, Ninety-Eighth Street 
and Jerome Park. 

FILTRATION OF THE CROTON WATER. 

Croton water long had a good reputation. Filtration, however, has been 
so successful in many places that the standard for water supplies has been 
raised. Increasing population on the Croton watershed, especially summer 
residents, occasional excessive turbidity and color, with frequent unpleas- 
ant tastes and odors, render filtration not only most desirable, but, for the 
protection of the city's health, urgently necessary. Competent engineers 
and sanitary experts have repeatedly recommended the filtration of the 
Croton water, and in a recent report the Commissioner of Health has 
very emphatically declared the necessity for the purification of the water. 
By which of the organizations now engaged upon the city's water works 
the filter plant is to be built, when the work is to be undertaken, and what 
system of filtration is to be employed are questions not yet settled. If a 
slow sand filter plant be built, it will be larger than any other yet con- 
structed. One or two sites for such a plant are available along the New 
Croton aqueduct. The total cost has been estimated roughly at $10,000,- 
000. Filtration would require changes in some of the distributing reser- 
voirs, including the covering of a portion of the Jerome Park reservoir, as. 
intimated on another page. 



34 NEW YORK AXD VICINITY. 

WATER DISTRIBUTION IN NEW YORK, AND 
BOROUGH SUPPLIES* 

DISTRIBUTION PIPE SYSTEM IN MANHATTAN. 

Both the old and the new aqueducts dehver their water to the gate 
house at 135th Street, near Amsterdam Avenue. From this point the 
water of the old aqueduct flows southward into the cit}' by one 48-in., 
two 36-in. and one 60-in. pipe, while the water from the new aqueduct 
flows through eight 48-in. pipes, laid down Convent Avenue. Six of these 
pipes lead to the distributing reservoirs in Central Park, while the others 
lead directly into the distribution system supplying the portions of the 
city north of Central Park. 

From the south end of the new Central Park reservoir six 48-in. pipes 
lead out into the distribution system, and two 30-in. pipes lead from the 
old reservoir. Several of these pipes run through Fifth Avenue to the 
lower portions of the city. The others spread out and run down various 
avenues. They are all cross-connected, as a general thing, by 20-in. pipes 
at several streets, such as Seventy-Eighth, Fifty-Seventh, Thirty-Eighth, 
Twenty-Ninth, Twenty-First, Tenth, Houston and Chambers Streets. 
Between these mains the smaller pipes are run, but on account of the 
length of time that many of these pipes have been laid, and the increase in 
demand for water, often rendering it necessary to reinforce certain streets 
with additional mains, no definite system can be said to exist. 

HIGPI-PRESSURE FIRE SYSTEMS OF NEW YORK CITY. 

The high-pressure fire system now being built by the Department of 
Water Supply of New York City consists of an entire new system of 
mains, hydrants, etc., over the area to be protected, which extends from 
Chambers Street on the south to Twenty-Third Street on the north, and 
from the Bowery to the North River. The water for this system is to 
be taken from the pipes of the existing Croton supply, but a connection 
is also to be laid to the rivers, so that salt water can be used in case it 
should become necessary ; but it is not intended to make use of the river 
water except in case of some unavoidable emergency. 

There are to be two pumping stations, one on the East River, at the 
foot of Oliver Street, and one on the North River, at Gansevoort Street. 
Each station is to be equipped with five multi-stage centrifugal pumps, 
each direct-connected to an 800-brake horse-power induction motor, and 
space for three additional similar units has been provided. Each pump 
will be capable of delivering 3,000 gals, per minute against a head of 300 
lbs., giving a total capacity for each station of 15,000 gals, per minute, or 
a capacity for the two stations combined of 43,000,000 gals, per day. The 
pumps will be designed so that they may be regulated to deliver the above 
quantity of water at any pressure desired between 100 and 300 lbs. The 
electrical equipment in these stations is designed to use alternating current, 
without transformation, at 6,300 to 6,600 volts and 25 cycles, and direct 
current at 120 to 240 volts, the former for driving the main pumps, the 
latter for the auxiliary apparatus and the lighting of the stations. 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 35 

The general design of the distribution system consists of two 24-in. 
pipes, around the outside edges of the area to be protected, connected 
directly with each pumping station. These mains are cross-connected by 
20-in. and i6-in. mains dividing the district into smaller areas. These 
smaller areas are supplied by 12-in. pipes, the smallest mains to be used. 
The hydrant connections are all 8 in. It will be possible to concentrate on 
any one block sixty fire streams of 500 gals, per minute each, or the full 
capacity of both stations, with a length of hose not exceeding 400 or 500 
ft. The contract for the construction of this system is now being adver- 
tised, and it will be entirely built within the next year. 

A similar system is being put in for Brooklyn, extending along the 
river front and over the most important business streets. This system 
has three pumping stations containing the same equipment as the New 
York stations. There is also a small high-pressure fire service plant at 
Coney Island, which has been nearly completed, and will give a pressure 
of 200 lbs. over the most hazardous portions of that famous resort. 

This work is all under the charge of I. M. de Varona, chief engineer 
of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity. 

USE OF WATER METERS IN NEW YORK CITY. 

The use of meters in New York City would seem to be surprisingly 
small, compared with the usage of neighboring cities. There are, ap- 
proximately, 50,000 meters in use in Manhattan and the Bronx, and 6,675 
in the borough of Brooklyn. Considerable extension of the use of meters 
in Manhattan and the Bronx has been recommended, but the necessary ap- 
propriation has not yet been made. Investigations made in 1903, by N. S. 
Hill, Jr., former chief engineer of the Department of Water Supply, showed 
a very uneven distribution of revenue per thousand gallons actually sup- 
plied in various tj'pical sections of the city. The actual revenue, metered 
and unmetered, in some districts covered by this investigation, showed the 
unmetered revenue to be as small as i cent per thousand gallons actually 
s^ipplied. The fixed meter rate amounts to 13 1-3 cents per 1,000 gals, on 
all water used, whether in large or small amounts. These investigations 
also gave evidence of a great loss in the metered revenue, through illegal 
use of by-passes around meters. It is most unfortunate that the city of 
New York does not have control of its service pipes, as it is now almost 
impossible to prevent this unlawful practice. 

In one section of Manhattan, wholly devoted to business, and pre- 
sumably fully metered, it was found that out of a total supply of about 
9,000,000 gals, daily, the total metered registration accounted for little 
more than half this amount. A very large amount of water is used by 
shipping in New York City. Many of the piers and docks are provided 
with meters. The large use of water by steam tugboats, on the North and 
East Rivers, is mainly unmetered, but reports are obtained by the meter 
department of the tugs taking water at each dock, by a force of inspectors 
attached to this department. The inspectors note the name of each tug, 
and the hour of taking water, and allowance is made according as the tug 
has high or low-pressure engines. In the borough of Brooklyn careful 



36 



NEJJ- YORK AND JICINITY 



records are kept of the use of meters. On Januar}- i, 1905, there were, m 
Brooklyn, 124,388 taps. The number of meters in use on the same date was 
6,675. 

WATER SUPPLY OF THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN. 
From the incorporation of the city of Brooklyn, in 1834, up to 1855, 
the question of a public water supply was discussed at various times, but no 
definite action was taken until 1855, when the Nassau Water Company was 
incorporated. In the following year, a contract was made with this com- 
pany to construct the works, the city to subscribe to $1,300,000 of the stock. 
The total cost of the works was to be $4,200,000. There was to be a closed 




MT. PROSPECT LABORATORY AND TOWER, BROOKLYN. 



conduit from the Ridgewood pumping station to a stream south of the vil- 
lage of Jamaica, known as Baisley's Stream, and from this point an open 
canal easterly to Hempstead Pond, south of the town of Hempstead. The 
original works were supposed to be capable of supplying about 20,000,000 
gals, daily, and the water was to be pumped at the Ridgewood station into 
Ridgewood reservoir, located on the hills northeast of Brooklyn. There was 
to be a high-service pumping station within the city limits pumping into a 
reservoir at the corner of what is now Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Park- 
way. The distribution system was to consist of about 120 miles of mains, 
with 800 hydrants. The city acquired entire control of the construction in 
1857, and in the latter part of 1858 the supply was first let into the distri- 
bution system. 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 37 

The open canal from Baisley's Stream to Hempstead Pond was aban- 
doned, and a brick conduit was built for the full length. This conduit is 
of horseshoe-shape, and at the lower end has a width of lo ft., and a height 
of 8.67 ft. ; the dimensions gradually reduce until at the upper end the 
width is 8.17 ft., and the height 6.33 ft. Within about ten years after com- 
pletion, the original works could not meet the demands of the consumers, 
and in 1870 the large storage reservoir on Hempstead Stream was author- 
ized. This reservoir was entirely completed in 1877, although the greater 
part of the work had been completed and the reservoir put into use several 
years earlier. This storage reservoir holds a little over 800,000,000 gals., 
and is practically the only storage reservoir connected with the Brooklyn 
supply. The supply has always been barely sufficient to meet the demands, 
and additions have been made from time to time by the construction of 
driven-well stations and pumping stations drawing a supply from ponds 
below the conduit line. 

The extension of the works east of the terminal of the old conduit 
was commenced in 1889, and was practically completed in 1891, the water 
from the new water shed being carried by gravity through a brick conduit 
to the Millburn station, and pumped at that station through cast-iron pipes 
to the Ridgewood station. The conduit east of Millburn is brick, practi- 
cally the same shape as the old conduit, the lower section having a width of 
9.33 ft., and a height of 6.92 ft., while the most easterly section has a width 
of 7.33 ft, and a height of 5.92 ft. In 1894 the supply was again inade- 
quate to meet the demands, and new driven-well stations were contracted 
for on the new watershed. Since that time various pumping stations have 
been established, until at the present time there are eighteen stations sup- 
plying water to the city, not including the Mt. Prospect, Ridgewood and 
Millburn stations, which simply force the supply to higher levels. 

This supply is derived entirely from the sandy soil on the south side of 
Long Island, there being three driven-well stations within the city limits 
owned by the city, and one large private station with several smaller pri- 
vate stations, furnishing restricted areas. The largest station is owned by 
the Flatbush Water Works Company, and supplies the Twenty-Ninth 
\¥ard, this company having an exclusive franchise for this ward. Outside 
of the city limits there are eleven stations deriving their supply wholly from 
driven wells, and three stations deriving their supply from driven wells and 
surface sources. One station derives its supply wholly from surface 
sources. 

On account of the permeable character of the south side of Long 
Island, the conditions are ideal for an underground supply, and water is 
obtained both from the water table lying a short distance below the sur- 
face, and also from a deep water table lying below a clay bed, which is 
usually about 100 ft. below the surface, and of varying thickness, this bed, 
however, not being continuous over the island. 

There are on the old watershed seven shallow ponds, formed by throw- 
ing dams across the stream valleys, which originally supplied the water 
directly by gravity into the brick conduit, and on the new watershed there 
are four similar ponds. Two of the gravity ponds on the old watershed 



38 NEW YORK AND J'ICINITV. 

are now filtered, and the supply pumped into the conduit. The average 
daily supply furnished during 1904 from the watershed outside of the city 
limits amounted to 104,300,000 gals, per day, while the supply derived from 
the three pumping stations within the city amounted to 8,800,000 gals, 
per day, making a total average supply of 113,100,000 gals. The estimated 
population is 1,290,800, making a per capita consumption of 87.6 gals.- 

The Millburn pumping station is equipped with engines having a 
nominal capacity of 75,000,000 gals, daily, while the nominal capacity of 
the engines at the Ridgewood station is about 140,000,000 gals, daily. 

The main distribution reservoir, the Ridgewood reservoir, is divided 
into three basins, the total nominal capacity being about 300,000,000 gals. 
Mt. Prospect high-service reservoir has a nominal capacity of about 20,- 
000,000 gals. In 1891 the Mt. Prospect tower was built adjoining the 
reservoir to feed the higher sections of the borough. The elevation of the 
Ridgewood reservoir at normal water line is 170 ft. above mean high tide, 
and the elevation of the high-water line of the Mt. Prospect reservoir is 
198 ft., while the overflow of the Mt. Prospect tower has an elevation of 
278 ft. The Mt. Prospect reservoir service uses alx)Ut 3,000,000 gals, 
daily, and the tower service uses about 4,500,000 gals, daily. A portion of 
the water for the Mt. Prospect reservoir has been, since early in 1905, 
pumped from the Ridgewood station, the supply for the Mt. Prospect 
station being taken from the distribution mains. 

On Janviary i, 1905, there was a total length of mains in use of all 
sizes of 739 miles, together with 7,341 gate valves, and 8,444 hydrants. The 
original distribution system consisted mainly of 6 and 8-in. mains, and 
these were laid uncoated. The clogging bj^ rust tubercules has been such 
that it is now necessary to replace all the original distribution mains 
smaller than 12 ins. in diameter. 

WATER SUPPLY OF BOROUGH OF RICHMOND, CITY OF NEW YORK. 

(Staten Island.) 

The borough of Richmond has about 75,000 population and covers an 
area of about 57 square miles. A considerable portion of this area is with- 
out a public water supply, the inhabitants of many of the villages still 
having their own wells. There are three private water companies which 
supply the more densely settled portions of the island, and one pumping 
station operated by the city. The entire supply of water is taken from 
driven wells, which are mostly 4 ins. in diameter, and vary from 50 to 
100 ft. deep. 

The Staten Island Water Supply Company supplies the northwestern 
portions, including the villages of Tompkinsville, New Brighton, West 
New Brighton and Richmond. It has four pumping stations, three of 
v.'hich take water from wells, the fourth merely raising the pressure to 
supply the highest portion of the area. The water is pumped directly into 
the mains, which are connected with a reservoir. 

The Crystal Water Supply Company supplies the southeastern por- 
tions of the island, including the villages of Stapleton, Clifton, Fort Wads- 



WATER WORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 39 

worth and Concord. It has three pumping stations, at all of which water 
is taken from wells. In addition to the low-service pumps, one of these 
stations also has high-pressure pumps to supply the higher portions of the 
island. The water is pumped into a standpipe for the high service, and 
into a reservoir for the low service. 

The South Shore Water Company supplies water from two driven 
wells to the village of New Dorp. - Its mains are directly connected with a 
standpipe. At the extreme southwestern portion of the island, the city 
operates a small pumping station, which supplies the village of Totten- 
ville and the immediate neighborhood. 

The city of New York is about to begin the construction of a com- 
plete new distribution sytem to cover the entire island. Water will be 
bought from a private company in New Jersey, and submerged mains will 
be laid across the Kill von KuU. It is the intention to have three distinct 
zones of elevation, the lower zone being supplied directly from the mains 
of the New Jersey compan}^, the middle and high zones to be supplied by 
pumping. The island is in places over 400 ft. above the level of the sea. 
The sum of $1,500,000 has been recently appropriated for this work. 

WATER SUPPLY OF BOROUGH OF QUEENS. 

The borough of Queens consists of five wards, all of which are sup- 
plied with water from driven wells. The First Ward, Long Island City, 
has two pumping stations owned and operated by the city. The local sup- 
ply of water is not sufficient for the demand, and the city is obliged to 
buy part of its supply, at a fixed price per million gallons, from the Citi- 
zen's Water Company, which also supplies all water used in the Second 
Ward, dealing directly with the consumers. This company operates five 
pumping stations, all discharging into a common system of mains, on which 
a standpipe is located. It also controls several other large tracts of water- 
bearing land. This Second Ward was originally the town of Newtown. 

The Third Ward, comprising the former towns of Flushing, College 
Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck, is supplied by 
three driven-well pumping stations, owned and operated by the city. These 
stations pump directly into the mains, which are also connected to a stand- 
pipe. The Fourth Ward, or the former town of Jamaica, is supplied by the 
Jamaica Water Supply Company, a private company, which deals directly 
with the consumers. The, Fifth Ward, a part of the old town of Hetnp- 
stead, is also supplied by a private company — the Queens County Water 
Company. Both this and the Jamaica Company obtain their supply from 
driven wells. 

MT. PROSPECT LABORATORY, BROOKLYN. 
Mt. Prospect Laboratory is the main testing station of the Depart- 
ment of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity of New York City. It is situ- 
ated near Mt. Prospect reservoir and water tower, Flatbush Avenue and 
Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, and is within a short walk of Mt. Prospect 
engine house. From the Manhattan terminal of the Brooklyn Bridge, the 
Flatbush Avenue car reaches the laboratory in about twenty-five minutes. 



40 NEW YORK AND VICINITY. 

The observaton' on the top of the laboratory affords a fine view of Pros- 
pect Park and Plaza, and from the top of the water tower on a clear day 
may be had a comprehensive view of the entire borough of Brooklyn, as 
well as large portions of the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens. 

The laboratory was established in 1897, by Mr. I. M. de Varona, chief 
engineer of the Department of Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, and it is 
beyond question the finest and most completely equipped water works labor- 
atory in the country. The upper floor is divided into five rooms ; a room 
devoted to the chemistry of water; a room for examinations for bacteria 
and microscopic organisms ; a general chemical laboratory with a dark 
room and weighing room ; a special chemical laboratory for the testing 
of lubricating oil, asphalt and coal, and an office for reports and records. 
On the lower floor is a physical room, devoted largely to cement tests, 
sand and gravel analyses for filtration purposes, and the sampling of 
metals for pipes, hydrant fittings, etc. There are also two rooms for gas 
analysis, a photometer room and a room for meter tests. 

A branch laboratory is situated at Mt. Kisco, N. Y., on the Croton 
watershed and another branch laboratory for filter examinations is in- 
stalled at Jamaica, L. I., on the Brooklyn watershed. The laboratory force 
is under the direction of Mr. D. D. Jackson, chemist in charge, and con- 
sists of three chemists, one bacteriologist, one stenographer, two office 
boys, one junior clerk, five laboratory assistants and seven laborers. 

About ten thousand samples of water are collected and analyzed an- 
nually, and a considerable amount of work is done on supplies and general 
constructional materials. Regular weekly reports are made to the chief 
engineer on the condition of the water in the various boroughs, and on 
the efficiency of the filter plants. During the year, between 400 and 500 
special reports are also made, in connection with the quality of materials 
used in the department, the temporary use or by-passing of the numerous 
sources of water supply and recommendations relating to the general 
sanitary patrol of the eighty-two distinct sources of water supply for 
Greater New York. 



ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY FOR NEW YORK. 

It has been estimated that the population of Greater New York will 
be 7,000,000 by 1930. To supply such a community with 100 gals, per 
capita per day would require 700,000,000 gals., and to meet an average 
demand for 150 gals, would require 1,050,000,000 gals, per day. Sources 
of supply now in use have an estimated combined safe capacity, in a series 
of dry years, of approximately 400,000,000 gals, daily, which is about the 
present conumption. Some of these are of such inferior quality that their 
use should be discontinued. Studies under municipal authorization and 
others, within recent years, have all shown the great urgency for securing 
water from new sources. Most notable among these investigations were 
those by Mr. John R. Freeman, the Merchants' Association and the Com- 
mission on Additional Water Supply (William H. Burr, Rudolph Hering 



WATER JJ'ORKS OF GREATER NEW YORK. 41 

and John R. Freeman) whose now famous reports were issued respectively 
in 1900 and 1904. Two or three relatively nearby sources of considerable 
promise have been ruled out on account of inter-State legal complications 
that would attend their development. Restrictive legislation in New York 
has also forbidden the city to use certain available sources wholly within 
the State. In June, 1905, two important Acts were passed by the Legis- 
lature, No. 723 creating a State commission, and No. 724 authorizing the 
A'layor of New York to appoint a Board of Water Supply. The State 
commission of five men is to have general supervision of municipal sup- 
plies. The members of the State commission are : President, Henry H. 
Persons, East Aurora ; Ernst J. Lederle, New York City ; John A. Slei- 
cher, New York City; Milo M. Acker, Hornellsville, and Charles Davis, 
Saugerties. 

On June 9, Mayor McClellan appointed, from lists of three names each 
presented by the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Fire Underwriters 
and the New York Manufacturers' Association, J. Edward Simmons, presi- 
dent of the Fourth National Bank ; Charles N. Chadwick, a manufacturer, 
and Charles A. Shaw, president of the Hanover Fire Insurance Company, 
to constitute the Board of Water Supply of the City of New York. Mr. 
Simmons has been chosen chainnan. Offices have been established at 
No. 299 Broadway. On July 31, Mr. J. Waldo Smith was appointed chief 
engineer. John R. Freeman, of Providence ; Frederic P. Stearns, of 
Boston, and William H. Burr, of New York, have been appointed con- 
sulting engineers. Engineering and executive staffs are being organized, 
and general plans for the work are being studied, which plans are subject 
to approval by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the city, and 
by the State Commission on Water Supply. 

As the result of previous investigations and restrictive legislation, the 
source of supply to be immediately developed will probably be Esopus 
Creek, in Ulster Count}', on the west side of the Hudson and about 90 
miles north of the city. The works, as recommended by the Burr-Hering- 
Freeman commission, will include a reservoir of about 66,000,000,000 gals, 
capacit}'. with a masonry dam 1,280 ft. long, of 175 ft. maximum height 
above the stream bed, an earth dam 10,700 ft. long, several smaller reser- 
voirs and a 500,000,000-gal. aqueduct, in tunnel and trench about 90 miles 
long, involving a crossing of the Hudson River. A rough estimate of the 
total cost of the Works is $ioo,ooo,coo. Future extensions can be made in 
the watersheds of the Rondout, Schoharie and Catskill creeks, which are 
contiguous to the Esopus Creek. The waters of the upper Hudson may 
also be made available in the more distant future. Further development 
of the ground waters of Nassau County, Long Island, may add 25,000,000 
to 50,000.000 gals, daih' to the supply of the borough of Brooklyn, but 
Brooklyn will need also a share of the new supply from the North. For 
the borough of Richmond (Staten Island) a commission consisting of 
William H. Burr, J. Waldo Smith, Allen Hazen, Nelson P. Lewis and I. 
M. de Varona was appointed b}- the Mayor, early in the summer, to 
recommend proper procedure for improving the supply of that borough. 



Rapid Transit in New York* 



ELEVATED RAILROAD AND RAPID TRANSIT SUBWAW 

Students of transportation have found conditions in New York City 
peculiar in several respects. Owing to the great concentration of business; 
in certain sections of Manhattan Island, and the distribution of resident 
sections at considerable distances, it has been necessary to develop to a 
high point the efficiency of lines of communication. The principal direc- 
tion of travel on Manhattan Island is north and south. In the early morn- 
ing hours there is a rush of passengers .tipon every longitudinal railroad on 
the island toward the south ; in the late afternoon this tide of travel is 
reversed. During the periods of greatest travel, the cars of all transporta- 
tion companies are overcrowded, so that it is not uncommon for an in- 
tending passenger to fail to find even standing room. More than a thousand 
million passengers yearly travel on the transportation lines in New York. 
The street railway services may be divided into three classes : surface 
roads, elevated roads and subways. The surface roads have been com- 
bined under one general management. The motive power is largely elec- 
tricity, carried in underground conduits or third rails ; horses are employed, 
however, to a large extent, principally upon the east side of Manhattan. 
Of the electric cars on the surface, there are three chief types, but they 
are generally interchangeable upon all the routes in Manhattan. 

The elevated railroads of Manhattan and the Bronx are also united 
under one management, which is the same as that for the Rapid Transit 
Subway. The elevated roads run in a north and south direction upon 
Third, Sixth, Ninth and Second Avenues. In Brooklyn there are five 
lines of elevated railroads under the control of the Brooklyn Heights Rail- 
road Company. The fares upon all the elevated and surface roads is s 
cents. The number of passengers carried on the elevated roads of the 
Manhattan system has been as large as 1,000,000 on a single day. It is 
estimated that about 40 per cent, of all fares given to the railroad companies 
in New York are paid to the elevated system. Local stations are placed 
at intervals of less than a half a mile, and express trains run on a third 
track on the Ninth and Third Avenue branches. 

In order to increase the transportation facilities in a north-and-south 
direction, a subway has been built on Manhattan Island and in the Bronx. 
The work was constructed by the city, and has been leased to an operating 
company for a long term of jezrs. As at present constructed, the subway 
begins at the Battery, follows a nearly direct line to the Grand Central 
Station at Forty-Second Street, thence passes west to Broadway, under 
which it runs to Ninety-Sixth Street; at this point a branch passes north- 
east under Central Park to Lenox Avenue, and under the Harlem River 



RAPID TRANSIT. 45 

to the borough of the Bronx. From Ninetj'-Sixth Street a second branch 
follows a northerly direction to the Harlem River, near its intersection 
with the Hudson. The system was opened October 27, 1904. The plan of 
train services in the subway is similar to that of the elevated railroads ; 
local and express trains are run at frequent intervals. The motive power 
is electricitj". 

The subway is rectangular in section, from 25 to 50 ft. wide, and 13 
ft. high. It was built for the most part as an open excavation through the 
streets of the city. A bed of concrete was laid upon the floor, while pillars 
of special design were constructed on either side and along the center, and 
beams were laid across the top. The side and top were then built up with 
waterproof masonr}", and the whole w^as covered over and repaved. There 
are several sections of tunneling under Central Park, Washington Heights 
and the Harlem River. 

The total length of the subway is 21 miles: its cost was $35,000,000; 
the material excavated measured over 3,000.000 cu. yds., of which about 
1,300,000 was rock. In this construction there were used about 65,000 tons 
of steel, 8,000 tons of cast iron, and 550,000 cu. yds. of concrete. The con- 
struction of the subway presented a large number of peculiarly difficult 
financial and engineering problems. The contract for the whole work was 
taken by John B. ^IcDonald. William Barclay- Parsons was chief engineer 
until early in the present jear, when he was succeeded by George S. Rice. 

E.\ST RIVER TUXXEL OF THE XEW YORK RAPID TRAX5IT 
RAILROAD COMMISSIOX. 

The twin tunnels now building are the first to be constructed of the 
five tunnels which are proposed to connect the Manhattan and Brookh-n 
subway- systems. 

The tunnels are part of the line which connects Battery Park, in Man- 
hattan, with the Long Island Railroad in Brooklyn and, in connection with 
the Atlantic Avenue improvement of that road, form a rapid transit system 
which extends almost to Jamaica, L. I. 

The length of the river tunnel section is 6,550 ft. of double tunnels. 
Each tunnel is a cylindrical cast-iron shell, beton lined, with a clear inside 
diameter of of 15J/2 ft. The tunnels, on a 3.1 per cent, grade, reach a 
maximum depth (from base of rail) of about 94 ft. below mean high 
water, and have a roof covering of river bottom varying from 8 to 30 ft. 

On the New York side the headings have advanced 1,700 ft. through 
bed rock, which is more or less treacherous ; in some places the rock has 
fallen below the roof grade, leaving a covering of 15 ft. of clay and sand. 
These tunnels have reached a point 1400 ft. beyond the bulkhead, or shore 
line, on the Xew York side, and 600 ft. on the Brooklyn side. The total 
distance between both bulkhead lines is 4.250 ft., thus leaving 2.250 ft. to be 
excavated. 

The Xew York heading advanced through a rock excavation, made :n 
the usual manner by drilling, blasting and timbering, conditions being com- 
plicated, of course. b\' the use of compressed air ; the pressure at the 
present time is about 27 lbs. per square inch. 



RAPID TRANSIT. 



47 



On the Brooklyn side two shafts were sunk to a depth of about 65 ft. 
near the point where the base of rail intersected the elevation of mean high 
water. On the up-grade, for a distance of 600 ft. from these shafts, inde- 
pendent tubes were driven by shields without the use of compressed air, as 
they were above the level of ground water. On the down-grade from these 
shafts below the elevation of mean high water, double tubes have been 
driven by shields 2,000 ft., in all a total for Brooklyn of 2,600 ft. .(for New 
York 1,700 ft.), a total of 4,300 ft., which leaves 2,250 ft. yet to be built. 

The greatest obstacles encountered in Brooklyn were buildings in the 




SUBWAY: MANHATTAN VALLEY ARCH AND STATION. 
(Span, 168.5 feet.) 



narrow street and the small cover in the slip (9 ft.). The latter difficulty 
was surmounted by sinking a canvas covering on the bottom of the slip, and 
dumping on it scow loads of earth, until a sufficient depth of cover was 
obtained to resist the required air pressure. 

The cast-iron lining is of the usual design, and is erected in lengths of 
22 inches. Each length consists of a ring of eight segments, each Syi ft. 
long, and a key i ft. long. The flanges are 1^/4 ins. thick with a depth of 
7 inches, are stiffened by knee braces on sides and ends, and are each 
bored for nine bolts i in. in diameter. Each segment has a "lug" for 
convenience in handling, and is tapped with a i^-in. hole for grouting 



48 



NEW YORK AND VICINITY. 



after erection. The weight of the rings in rock is 7,300 lbs., and in earth 
8,300 lbs. ; about 4,300 rings have been erected to date. 

There were four cylindrical steel shields in Brooklyn. Each is 16 ft. 
11% ins. in diameter, and 9^2 ft. long, exclusive of a projecting hood 3^/2 
ft. long. Five feet from the forward end there is a transverse vertical 
bulkhead (shown on photograph), made of steel and properly stiffened by 
verticals members which form seven openings and afford communication 
between the tunnel and the "heading" for material to be excavated. 

The shield is advanced by fourteen hydraulic jacks with 8-in. pistons 
and 30-in. stroke. These are operated by a pump on a platform, which, 



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SUBWAY: .SHIELD IN EAST RIVER TUNNEL. 



on removable rollers attached to the completed shell, follows the shield. 
All of which will be clearly seen in the photograph. 

The pressure is varied with the resistance, liut in the usual gravelly 
material varies from 4,000 to 6.000 lbs. per square inch, and at the latter 
figure the total pressure advancing the shield is about four and a quarter 
million pounds. 

In addition to the pump mentioned the platform carries, at a fixed 
distance behind the shield, an erector arm, for putting the lining segments 
in place. This consists of a hydraulic piston, which is capable of revolution 
in a plane normal to the grade by nreans of a gear wheel. The seg- 



RAPID TRANSIT. 49 

raents are placed in the plane of the erector arm and a piston is advanced 
to engage the lug on each segment. The movement of the piston is then 
reversed, until the segment clears the ground (as shown), the gear wheel 
then revolves it until the desired position for the segment is reached, the 
piston is again advanced until the segment is in place and bolted. 

The lining is erected in the rear or tail of the shield, which on the 
next advance leaves an annular space of lyi ins. outside of the newly 
erected cast-iron ring. This space is filled by grout (i to i Portland 
cement) forced through the opening before mentioned by a pump which is 
carried on a second platform. 

Mr. George S. Rice is chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, 
and Mr. Robert Ridgeway is the division engineer in charge of this work. 

HARLEM RIVER TUNNEL OF THE NEW YORK RAPID TRANSIT 

RAILROAD. 

The Rapid Transit Railroad Tunnel under the Harlem River extends 
from a point near 144th Street, on the Manhattan side, to 149th Street on 
the Bronx side. The approaches, also in tunnel, have grades of 3 per 
cent., merging under the river into a vertical curve 450 ft. long, having a 
radius of 7,517 ft. At the middle of the river the base of rail is about 
44.5 ft. below mean high water, the top of the finished structure about 21 
ft. below mean low water. The approach tunnels are of heavy concrete 
arch construction, the arch itself reinforced by transverse steel rods spaced 
1.5 ft. These tunnels are entirely encased in a sheath of brick, laid in an 
asphalt mixture. 

A twin-tube construction extends from a point 89.5 ft. south of the 
Manhattan pierhead line to 15 1.5 ft. beyond the Bronx pierhead line, a 
total distance of 641 ft., the pierhead lines being 400 ft. apart. These 
cast-iron tubes have an inside diameter of 15 ft. They are 12.5 ft. apart, 
center to center, overlapping or merging into each other ; that is, each tube 
is flattened at the line of contact. This flattened portion, or diaphragm, 
common to both tubes, has a tier of holes through the ribs and flanges on 
each side to accommodate the electrical conduits. The individual seg- 
ments comprising the tubes have a length of 6 ft., and seven segments are 
required for each tube to complete a 6-ft. length. There are two sections 
in the diaphragm, making sixteen tmits in a complete 6-ft. length. The 
separate segments and sections have flanges on all four sides, thus al- 
lowing each unit to be bolted to adjacent units. The flanges and inter- 
mediate ribs are reinforced by lateral webs. The outer shell has a thick- 
ness of I in., the flanges a thickness of ij^ in., and a total width of 6 ins. A 
concrete envelope encloses the tubes. It has a thickness of i ft. under the 
tubes, 1.5 ft. on each side of the tubes, and 2.5 ft. above the tubes. On the 
inside of the tubes the pockets formed by the flanges and ribs are filled 
with concrete, making a smooth interior surface. The weight of cast iron 
in the 641 ft. of twin-tube construction is about 2,200 tons ; the quantity of 
concrete is approximately 4,500 cu. yds. 

A strip of the required width was dredged to within 8 or 10 ft. of 
sub-grade. Working platforms about 5 ft. above high water were built on 



50 NEJV YORK AND J'lCINITY. 

piles north and south of the dredged strip. Along this strip transverse 
pile bents were driven 8 ft. apart, four piles to a bent. These piles were 
cut off and capped at about elevation of top of the tube construction. A 
timber crib composed of transverse trusses, spaced 8 ft., and of longitudinal 
timbers connecting the trusses, was floated in and sunk so that the top 
longitudinal members rested upon the caps of the pile bents, the trusses 
falling midway between the bents. This cribwork formed the chief guide 
for driving sheet piling. Each member of this piling was composed of 
three 12 x 12-in. sticks bolted together, and provided with tongue and 
groove to engage adjacent members. The piles were in lengths of about 
65 ft., and were driven 10 ft. or more below sub-grade by 5,000-lb. hammers, 
working on specially designed ways. The sheet piling was cut off at about 
level of caps of pile bents mentioned above. The roof needed to complete 
the submerged working chamber or caisson was composed of three layers 
of 12 X 12-in. timbers, with courses of tongued and grooved planking be- 
tween. This roof, built in convenient lengths, was sunk so as to rest upon 
the pile bents and the top of the sheet piling. Within the chamber thus 
formed, after pumping out and turning on compressed air, the tubes were 
assembled and the concrete envelope placed. 

The above method was used for the Manhattan half of the channel. 
A modification was made for the work on the Bronx side. The sheet 
piling and pile bents were cut off about the elevation of the center of the 
tubes. The upper half of the tubes was assembled in about 90-ft. lengths 
on pontoons and the enclosing concrete placed. This completed upper half 
was launched and sunk until it rested upon the pile bents, and on brackets 
cast on the outside segments, upon the top of the sheet piling. The top of 
the structure itself thus formed the roof of a caisson in which the lower 
portions of the tubes were assembled and the concrete envelope completed. 
The air pressure used varied from about 10 to 15 lbs. 



Important Railroad Improvements* 



PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD TUNNELS TO NEW YORK CITY. 

Although ferryboats will continue to carry thousands of persons daily 
across the North and East Rivers, the Pennsylvania Railroad w^ill, in a 
few years, have other means of conveying passengers to Manhattan Island. 
A system of tunnels and approaches with a great station between Seventh 
and Ninth Avenues, Thirty-First and Thirty-Third Streets is in prog- 
ress of construction. Diverging from the main line at a point east of 
Newark tracks will be laid across the Hackensack Meadows, crossing high- 
ways and other railroads overhead, to North Bergen, where the tunnels 
start under the Bergen Hills. The tunnels pass under the North or Hud- 
son River at considerable depth, pierce Manhattan Island, continue under 
the East River and come to the surface near Thompson Avenue, Long 
Island City, on Long Island. Beyond the easterly portals of the tunnels 
will be a very large storage and cleaning yard for cars and engines. 

From the Jersey end to the station in Manhattan there are to be two 
tubes, one for trains in each direction, and from Seventh Avenue to Long 
Island City there are to be four tubes, two for Pennsylvania Railroad trains 
and two for the trains of the Long Island Railroad. A single tube is pro- 
vided for each track so as. to secure better ventilation, avoid the possibility 
of one train's interfering with another and reduce chances for accident. 
The total length of the tunnels is 6^/2 miles, and they will contain about 20 
miles of single track. They will be used solely for passenger service. All 
trains will be moved throttgh the tunnels by electric locomotives. 

The terminal station for receiving and discharging passengers in 
New York will occupy an area 520 x 2,000 ft. under ground, but the 
structure above, which will comprise the station building, a postoffice and 
an express building, will be somewhat smaller. At this station the tracks 
are 40 to 60 ft. below the streets, depending upon the elevation of the 
latter. The total cost of construction for these works has been estimated 
at $60,000,000. Contracts for the major part have been let on the basis of 
completion by the end of 1908. 

NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS AND 
ELECTRIFICATION. 

Im.provements now being made by the New York Central Railroad 
consist of a change in motive power from steam to electricity, the con- 
struction of two main power houses and eight sub-stations, and lowering 
the tracks of the Grand Central yard and terminal from Fifty-Sixth Street 
south to Forty-Second Street, so as to permit the restoration of the cross 
streets from Forty-Fifth to Fifty-Sixth Streets, inclusive, which heretofore 



52 NEJV YORK AND J'ICINITV. 

have been cut in two. The necessity for the change to electricity arose 
from the serious inconvenience due to the use of steam locomotives in the 
four-track Park Avenue tunnel, which extends from Fifty-Sixth Street to 
Ninety-Sixth Street, 2 miles. As the depression of the yard and terminus, 
with the consequent roofing in of the tracks by streets and viaducts, was 
not feasible with steam locomotives, an additional reason was presented for 
the change. The handling of from 500 to 700 trains a day in the Grand 
Central yard, with its maze of tracks and switches, presents a problem, 
the solution of which has never before been attempted with electricity as 
a motive power. 

Extensive changes are also planned for the Grand Central Station, 
including a connection with the Rapid Transit Subway. It is also planned 
to four-track both the Hudson and the Harlem divisions within the elec- 
trical zone, which extends 34 miles to Ossining, on the former, and 24 
miles to White Plains, on the latter. The change will involve the electri- 
fication of nearly 300 miles of single track, carrying very important passen- 
ger and mail traffic. 

The whole question of this change of power is in the hands of the 
Electric Traction Commission. After deciding upon the limits of the 
electrically-operated service, the next step was the selection of the character 
of current to be used. The commission, for several reasons, unanimously 
adopted direct current, among which were that direct current would fa- 
cilitate future interchange of equipment with other rapid transit lines in 
New York City and vicinity already similarly equipped, and that alternat- 
ing-current apparatus had not been developed to the point where it was 
considered practicable for such an important installation. 

Two central power stations are to be erected, one at Port Morris and 
one in the vicinity of Yonkers, each with an ultimate capacity of 30,000 
kilowatts, and so connected that either is able, in case of accident, to carry 
the entire load of a train service much greater than the present schedule. 
After an exhaustive examination of the relative merits of reciprocating 
engine-driven alternators and turbo-generators, the commission has recom- 
mended the use of the latter, and the contract has been executed for eight 
7,500-H. P. turbo-generators, with an ultimate installation of twelve. The 
turbines are the Curtis four-stage vertical type, running at 500 revolutions. 
The generators are 25-cycle, three-phase, alternating current, wound for 
11,000 volts. These turbo-generators, while rated at 7,500 H. P., can readily 
develop over 10,000 H. P. The condensing apparatus is guaranteed to 
maintain a vacuum of 28 ins., with cooling water at 70° F. 

The boiler houses will be of the one-floor type, and will contain, 
eventually, forty-eight 625-H. P. water-tube boilers with interval super- 
heaters. The boilers are designed for a normal working pressure of 185 
lbs., and the steam will be heated to 200° F. over and above the tempera- 
ture due to the steam pressure. 

The system of electrical distribution will be 11,000-volt, three-phase, 
alternating current, generated direct and fed to eight sub-stations, where 
the primary current will be transformed into 600-volt direct current and 
fed into the working conductors. These conductors will consist of the 



IMPORTANT RAILROAD IMPROVEMENTS. 53 

usual third rail, except at crossings, and in complicated yard work, where 
an overhead rail will be installed. 

The commission consists of Wm. J. Wilgus, John F. Deems, B. J. 
Arnold, Frank J. Sprague and Geo. Gibbs. Edwin B. Katte is the electri- 
cal engineer for the company. 

TUNNELS UNDER THE NORTH RIVER. 

The New York & Jersey Railroad and the Hudson & Manhattan 
Railroad constitute the Interstate Rapid Transit System of New York and 
Jersey City of the Hudson companies, popularly known as the "McAdoo 
tunnels." The system comprises in Jersey City a belt-line railway extend- 
ing from the Lackawanna Railroad, at Hoboken, as a northerly terminus, 
to the Jersey Central Railroad, at Communipaw, as a southerly terminus, 
with intermediate stations at the Erie Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, 
and in Jersey City. From this Jersey City belt-line there extended across the 
Hudson River a double line of tubes, from the Pennsylvania Railroad to 
Cortlandt Street, Manhattan, and thence to a terminal station down-town, 
fronting on Church Street and north and south from Fulton to Cortlandt 
Streets. For the uptown connection two tube tunnels have been already 
completed across the Hudson River from Hoboken to the foot of Morton 
Street, New York City. These two tubes are being extended under Chris- 
topher Street, Sixth Avenue and Ninth Street to two termini ; one at 
Thirty-Third Street and Sixth Avenue and the other at Ninth Street and 
Fourth Avenue, adjacent to Astor Place station on the Subwaj^ 

Work on the two tubes recently completed was commenced in 1869, 
and the present owners are the successors of the Hudson River Tunnel 
Company. For the most part the work of these companies consists of 
iron lined tunnels, without branch connections. There are now under con- 
struction some 12 miles of double-track railroad. It is intended to provide 
on the New Jersey end for a physical connection with the Public Service 
Corporation's lines, so that the company may deliver its passengers from its 
new high-speed suburban lines directly into New York, either up town or 
down town. 

All these tunnels are designed for an equipment of steel cars equal 
in size to those used in the New York Rapid Transit Subway, with third- 
rail electrical operation on the multiple-unit system, using a maximum train 
length of eight cars. Work is being actively carried on from the working 
plants at the foot of Morton Street, New York, and from foot of Fifteenth 
Street ; also from foot of York Street, Jersey Cit}^ It is being executed, 
without tearing up the surface, by shield tunneling methods. 

Under the Hudson remarkable records have been obtained, the com- 
pany having driven in one week (seven days) as much as 346 ft. of finished 
tunnel in one heading, with a maximum single day's work of 62 ft. This 
section of the work has been executed by means of a special shield capable 
of being forced through the clay tmderlying the Hudson River, removing 
only a very small portion of the clay in the construction of the work. Work 
imder New York, however, is being carried on in a coarse sand and gravel, 



54 NEJJ' YORK AND VICINITY. 

and has been driven under buildings and streets without anj- indication on 
the surface that the work was in progress, with no apparent settlement. 

One of the novel features of the iron tube tunnel is the construction of 
the curves on a radius of 150 ft. with a' shield and completely lined with an 
iron lining, b\- pushing the shield around on the radius of the curve with 
almost absolute accuracy. The construction of a tube tunnel on such a 
short radius with a shield has never previously been accomplished. The 
Hudson companies is directed by Mr. Walter G. Oakman, president, and 
the railroad companies are represented by Mr. W. G. McAdoo, who is the 
president of those companies. The work of construction is in charge and 
under the direction of Jacobs & Davies, as engineers. Tunnels are being 
driven under this river for the Pennsylvania Railroad, also, as described on 
another page. 



A Few Prominent Bridges in New York* 



WASHINGTON BRIDGE. 

Washington Bridge, across the Harlem River, is built on the line of 
iSist Street prolonged, and extends from Amsterdam Avenue, in the 
borough of Manhattan, to Aqueduct Avenue, in the borough of the Bronx, 
a distance of 2,375 ft- It consists of two steel arches, each of Sio-ft. span 
between the end bearing pins. Each of these arches is composed of six 
two-hinged steel ribs, 13.5 ft. high. These arches are flanked on the west 
side by three semi-circular stone arches of 60-ft. span, and on the east 
side by three similar arches of 60-ft. span, and one SS-ft. parabolic arch. 
Beyond the arches the bridge is continued on embankments between re- 
taining walls. This bridge carries a roadway 50 ft. wide, and two side- 
walks each 15 ft. in width. It has a height in the clear of the river span 
of 133-5 ft- Work was begun in July, 1886, and was finished in February, 
1889, at a cost, exclusive of land, of $2,851,685. -■ ' 

It can be reached by Sixth or Ninth Avenue elevated cars, transferring 
to an Amsterdam Avenue trolley at 125th Street, or by train from the 
Grand Central Station to High Bridge station. It is well worth the trip, 
as High Bridge and the New York Water Department Pumping Station 
can also be seen at the same time. 

BRIDGES OVER THE EAST RIVER. 

There are, at present, two bridges in operation across the East River — 
the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg Bridge. Two others are in process of 
construction — the Manhattan Bridge and the Blackwell's Island Bridge. 

The first bridge ever built across the East River was the Brooklyn 
Bridge, and for twenty years it was the only one available. Work was 
begun January 3, 1870, and the first wire of the cables was run across May 
29, 1877, but it was not till 1883 that the bridge was opened for use. It 
was designed by John A. Roebling, who was succeeded by Washington A. 
Roebling; and C. C. Martin as chief engineer. It is a suspension bridge 
with a main span of 1,595.5 ft., and a land span of 930 ft. at each end. The 
clear height in the center above mean high water is 135 ft. Four cables, 
each containing 5,296 parallel (not twisted) galvanized, steel, oil-coated 
wires, closely wrapped to a solid cylinder 15% ins. in diameter, are used to 
carry the roadways and tracks, and six stiffening trusses are provided. 
The total length of wire in the four cables, exclusive of the wrapping wire, 
is 14,361 miles. The extreme width of the bridge is 85 ft., and it carries a 
footway 15^ ft. in width, two tracks for the cars of the elevated railways 
and the failway system of the bridge itself, and two i8-ft. roadways, each 
of which is considerably obstructed by a trolley track. The arrangement of 



A FEW PROMINENT BRIDGES IN NEW YORK. 57 

roadways differs materially from that which was contemplated when the 
general designs for the bridge were prepared, and numerous projects for 
increasing the strength of the structure, and consequently its capacity, have 
been suggested. 

The special engineering feature of the bridge is the use of masonry 
towers. These towers were built on pneumatic caissons, which at the time 
were the largest of their kind ever sunk. One tower is 140 x 59 ft. at the 
water line, and the other is 140 x 56 ft. Each is 272 ft. high above the 
water. The Brooklyn tower contains 38,214 cu. yds. of masonry, and the 
New York tower 46,945 cu. yds. The bridge extends, with its approaches, 
from Park Row, Manhattan, to Sands Street, Brooklyn, a total distance of 
6,016 ft., and if the extreme points of the terminal structure at the ends 
are included in the measurement, the length is 7,580 ft. 

The second bridge built across the East River was the Williamsburg 
Bridge. This is also a suspension bridge, and connects the foot of the main 
street of the old city of Williamsburg with Delancey Street, Manhattan. 
This bridge has a main span of 1,600 ft., and a land span at each end of 
596.5 ft. The land spans are not suspended from the cables, like those of 
the Brooklyn Bridge, but are independent truss structures. The clear 
height of this bridge in the center, above mean high water, is 140.4 ft. 

The towers, rising about 332 ft. above the high-water level, are steel 
structures weighing about 3,048 tons each. Instead of one large caisson and 
a single base for each tower, as were used for the Brooklyn Bridge, two 
caissons and two masonry piers were employed for each tower of the 
Williamsburg Bridge, and one of these caissons had to be sunk to a depth 
of 107.5 ft., 30 ft. deeper than at the older bridge. 

The towers carry four cables, 18^ ins. in diameter, each containing 
7,696 wires. Two stiffening trusses, 40 ft. deep, form one of the most 
noticeable features of the structure, and when viewed from a distance, 
distinguish it more than anything else from the Brooklyn Bridge. The 
topographical conditions at each end of the bridge rendered it advisable 
to keep all the heavy traffic on one level, and for this reason the bridge 
has a width of 118 ft. A light overhead deck carries the footwalks and 
bicycle path, while the main floor has two tracks for elevated railway cars, 
four tracks for trolley cars, and two 20-ft. roadways; the length of these 
last, from the terminal at one approach to that of the other, is 7,264 ft. 
The bridge has about three times the capacity of the Brooklyn Bridge. 

The bridge was designed by L. L. Buck, and built under his super- 
vision, O. F. Nichols being his principal assistant engineer during all the 
important stages of the work. It was begun in October, 1896, and was 
opened for traffic on December 19, 1903. Its cost, exclusive of property, 
was $10,858,000. 

The third bridge across the East River is the Blackwell's Island 
Bridge. It differs from the others in being a cantilever structure, a type 
of construction rendered possible by the natural advantage for tower 
foundations of Blackwell's Island, over which it passes, and from which it 
derives its name. The sub-structure for this bridge has been completed 
and the superstructure is now under way. Beginning on the Manhattan 



A FEW PROMINENT BRIDGES IN NEW YORK. 59 

side of the river, there is first an anchor span of 469.5 ft., then a channel 
span of 1,182 ft, a span of 630 ft. over the island, a second channel span 
of 984 ft., and finally an anchor span of 459 ft. at Long Island City. The 
towers rise a little over 300 ft. above the water level. The total width of 
the bridge will be 86 ft, and the width between center of trusses 60 ft. 
There will be an upper deck, with two tracks for elevated trains and room 
for two more similar tracks when needed, and a lower deck carrying four 
trolley car tracks, a 36-ft. central roadway, and two 12-ft. sidewalks. The 
structure is particularly noteworthy, apart from its magnitude, by the 
unique connections at the centers of the channel spans, where no suspended 
spans are used, and for the fact that 6,000 of the 45,000 tons of steel in the 
superstructure will be nickel steel. There will be a maximum clear height 
under the bridge, above mean high water, of 135 ft. This bridge was de- 
signed by Gustave Lindenthal, while he was Commissioner of Bridges of 
New York City. 

The fourth bridge across the East River is the Manhattan Bridge, and 
is located between the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg Bridges, and like 
them is a suspension bridge. The tower foundations are completed, and 
the plans for the superstructure have but recently been made public. The 
Brooklyn tower rests on rock, but the Manhattan tower is founded on sand 
at a depth, below mean high water, of 94 ft. The main span will be 1,470 
ft. in length, with a land span on each end of 725 ft. The Manhattan ap- 
proach will be 1,164 ft., and the Brooklyn 1,689 ft. There will be a clear 
head room above mean high water of 135 ft. The steel towers will rise to 
a height of 322 ft. above high water, and will carry four cables each, 21 
ins. in diameter, the largest ever built. They will hang vertically and will 
not be cradled like those of the Brooklyn Bridge. There will be an upper 
deck with four tracks for elevated trains, and a lower deck 120 ft. wide, 
with four trolley car tracks, two 10.5-ft. sidewalks, and a 35-ft. roadway. 
The two stiffening trusses will be 24 ft. deep and form a much less con- 
spicuous feature of the bridge than those of the Williamsburg Bridge. 
This bridge was designed by O. F. Nichols, chief engineer, and R. S. Buck, 
consulting engineer, of the Department of Bridges. 



Lightings Power and Sanitation* 



GAS WORKS IN NEW YORK CITY. 

There are five gas companies which manufacture and supply gas to 
New York City, the ConsoHdated Gas Company, the New York Mutual 
Gas Light Company, the Standard Gas Light Company, the Central Union 
Gas Light Company and the New Amsterdam Gas Company. The Con- 
solidated Gas Company, organized November ii, 1884, is a consolidation of 
six different companies. It is at present operating five works in New 
York City, as well as having holder stations at four other locations. Gas 
is manufactured and purified at these different points by various processes. 
The combined holder capacity of this company is about 25,000,000 cu. ft. 
This company has at present under construction an immense plant at 
Astoria, L. L, the plans being to remove all the works from New 
York City, leaving only holder stations, and to pump the gas from Astoria 
to these stations. For the present, the unit now under construction being 
for coal gas, they will pump from Astoria to Ravenswood and mix with the 
water gas, and feed from the New Amsterdam Gas Company at this point, 
the mixed gas being pumped through a tunnel, described on another page, 
previously constructed, to Manhattan. They have, however, received a 
franchise for a new tunnel, extending from their works in Astoria to East 
I nth Street, New York, and will soon begin its construction. Mr. William 
H. Bradley is the chief engineer of the Consolidated Gas Company, and 
Mr. Howard Bruce is its general manager. 

The New York Mutual Gas Light Company, incorporated in 1866, 
has works located at Twelfth Street and the East River, which manufac- 
ture water gas by the Lowe process. There is a holder capacity at this 
plant of 10,274,000 cu. ft. The Standard Gas Light Company, incorporated 
in 1886, has works located at 114th Street and the Harlem River. Gas is 
here manufactured by the Lowe process, and stored in two holders, one 
at I32d Street, near Broadway, and one at Nineteenth Street and Avenue 
A. The Central Union Gas Light Company has works located at 138th 
Street and the East River. It manufactures both coal and water gas, 
having installed both horizontal and inclined benches for the manufacture 
of the former. 

The New Amsterdam Gas Company has its main works located in 
Long Island City. It also has holder stations at East Fortieth Street and 
West Fifty-Eighth Street, New York, to which gas is pumped, from the 
generating station to Manhattan, through two 36-in. mains. These mains 
are laid in a tunnel, about 10 ft. in diameter, extending from Webster 
Avenue, Long Island City, under Blackwell's Island and the two channels 
of the East River, to Sevent3'-First Street, New York. This tunnel was 



LIGHTING, POWER AND SANITATION. 61 

the first tunnel ever built under the East River. Portions of this tunnel, 
through the mud on the New York side, were driven by means of a shield, 
while the portion through rock was built without any protection. The 
roof of this tunnel is about ic6 ft. below the surface of low water in the 
river. 

ELECTRIC LIGHTING IN NEW YORK CITY. 

The development of the electric lighting industry in New York is so 
closely allied with the development of the uses of electricity itself that a 
history of the Edison system in New York might well be called a history 
of electric lighting. The New York Edison Company, successor to the 
Edison Electric Illuminating Company, furnishes practically all the light- 
ing in Manhattan and the Bronx, and is using on Manhattan Island the 
Edison three-wire low-tension system of distribution. In the Bronx an 
alternating-current system is used, due to the longer distances and scattered 
load. The Edison three-wire low-tension system, which was first installed 
in this city, starting from small beginnings, has grown to such a point that 
it now represents a connected installation of over 3,000,000 i6-c. p. equip- 
ments. The distribution system itself is practically the same as when first 
installed, consisting of a network of mains on both sides of the street, all 
inter-connected, from which the customers' services are taken. 

Low-tension feeders supply the mains at many feeding points through- 
out the city, the feeders being taken from the various sub-stations and 
older steam generating stations. The sub-stations, many of which were 
formerly low-tension generating stations, are supplied with high-tension 
alternating current from the Waterside station of the company, trans- 
forming the alternating current to low-tension direct current by means of 
step-down transformers and rotaries. Each sub-station has a distributing 
switchboard with three sets of busses maintained at slightly different volt- 
ages, thus allowing for the varying length of feeders and maintaining a 
constant potential in the mains. There are more than twenty of these sub- 
stations in the city, and it is interesting to note that each of these sub- 
stations contains one or more storage batteries to safeguard the customer in 
case of breakdown or other difificulties. 

At the present time all the high-tension current is generated at the 
Waterside station, located on First Avenue between Thirty-Eighth and 
Thirty-Ninth Streets, which has a normal capacity of 58,000 kilowatts. 
The generating apparatus consists of eleven 6,ooo-H. P. engines of the 
three-cylinder compound vertical type, directly connected to 4,000-kilowatt 
rotary-field generators, and four 5,000-kilowatt Curtis steam turbines. 
The boiler equipment consists of fifty-six 650-H. P. Aultman & Taylor 
inclined water-tube boilers. About half the boilers are provided with 
stokers. The products of combustion are taken care of by means of four 
steel stacks 19 ft. in diameter and 200 ft. high. 

The new Waterside station, under construction, will have a normal 
capacity of over 75,000 kilowatts, and will be ready for service in the sum- 
mer of 1906. At the present time four 7,500-kilowatt units are in process 
of construction, two of the Westinghouse-Parsons type and two of the 



62 NEJV YORK AND VICINITY. 

Curtis type. The new Waterside station will contain ninet\--six 650-H. P. 
Babcock & Wilcox boilers, which will be equipped with superheaters and 
forced-draught apparatus. The products of combustion from these boilers 
will be taken care of by means of four steel stacks 22 ft. in diameter and 
300 ft. high. 

In the borough of Brooklyn a mixed system is in use, the three- 
wire Edison system for the ui-ban district, and a number of alternating 
systems for the suburban territory. Most of the current is generated at 
the Bay Ridge station of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of 
Brooklyn, but there are a number of smaller generating stations and sub- 
stations. In the boroughs of Queens and Richmond there are a number 
of alternating systems covering small districts. 

PROPOSED MUNICIPAL LIGHTING PLANT FOR NEW YORK CITY. 

The technical commission on electric lighting for the City of New 
York, consisting of Dr. Cary T. Hutchinson, Nelson P. Lewis and Prof. 
George F. Sever, has recently submitted to the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment a report giving the cost of construction and operation of a 
city electric plant to suppl}' all the city lighting by electricity for streets, 
parks and public buildings. The report deals in great detail with the prob- 
lem, and claims that with the proposed equipment each arc lamp for which 
the city is now paying $146 per year can be operated at an annual cost of 
$64.07, and that at 5.5 cents per kilowatt-hour the city can obtain incan- 
descent service which now costs 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. The esti- 
mated cost of the complete plant for Manhattan and the Bronx is 
$7,567,000. 

The city owns a plot of ground bounded by Avenue A, Ninetieth and 
Ninety-First Streets and the East River, and it is proposed that the central 
station be located on this plot. The power house will comprise a boiler 
room, a turbine room, with switchboard galleries and two wings for office 
purposes. Each wing is to be approximately 50 x 53 ft. The boiler room 
is to be 88 x 260 ft., the turbine room 103 x 260 ft. The building is to be 
constructed of reinforced concrete and masonry. 

The specifications call for two 5,000-kw, three 3.000-kw and one 
i.ooo-kw turbo-generator units, together with one turbine or engine- 
driven exciter of at least 200-kw capacity. The exciter will be wound for 
125 volts direct current, while the other generators are to be wound for 
three-phase, 6o-cycle current at 11,000 volts. The boilers will be inclined 
water-tube boilers, designed for a working steam pressure of 200 lbs., and 
are to be fitted with mechanical stokers for burning either hard or soft 
coal. The equipment is to include twenty-four boilers, each of approxi- 
mately 6,000 sq. ft. of heating surface (about 600 H. P. each). The super- 
heaters will raise the temperature of the steam 150 deg. F. above the tem- 
perature at 200 lbs. pressure. A storage capacity for coal is to be provided 
sufficient to run the plant for six months. The power will be delivered 
to nine sub-stations in Manhattan and five in the Bronx, by means of cables 
run underground in ducts at 11,000 volts; it will be transformed to the 
required voltage. No provision whatever is made in the estimates for a 



64 



NEJV YORK AND J'ICINITY 



storage battery plant as a safeguard against breakdown or accident in the 
generating plant. 

LARGE POWER HOUSES IN NEW YORK. 

Visitors to New York, interested in the generation of electricity for 

power and lighting purposes, will find much to interest in the many large 

power houses now in operation or under construction. In no other locality 

in the world can one find so many examples of good design and modern 

construction. The following list includes all power houses larger than 

20,000 kilowatts at normal rating : 

Boiler Generator 
Name and Company. H. P. K. W. Remarks 

New Waterside — The N. Y. Edison Co. . 62.400 75,000 Construction 

Subway — Interborough R. T. Co 43,000 60,000 

Williamsburg — Brooklyn H'ts R. R. Co.. 46,800 60,000 Construction 

Waterside — The N. Y. Edison Co 36,400 58,500 

Kingsbridge — Metropolitan St. Rj-. Co... 32,000 42,000 

Manhattan — Interborough R. T. Co 33,280 40,000 

96th Street — Metropolitan St. Ry. Co.... 20,000 38,500 

Long Island City — Penn. Ry. Co 33,ooo Construction 

Port Morris — New York Central 30,000 30,000 Construction 

Yonkers — New York Central 30,000 30,000 Construction 

Central — Brooklyn Heights R. R. Co.... 20,800 21,600 

Of this list all but two generate power for the transportation systems 
of the city, the Waterside stations being used for lighting and general 
power purposes. Those marked "Construction" are not yet completed. 

The latest type of railway generating station equipped with the modern 
steam turbo-generators may be seen at the Williamsburg, Port Morris or 
Long Island City stations, the differences in design of the stations being 
caused by the type of turbine used and the cost of real estate. Of the 
older stations the Subway and Manhattan are equipped with engines of the 
horizontal-vertical type, while the Kingsbridge, 96th Street and Central 
stations have ordinary vertical cross-compound engines. While the stations 
differ largely in generating apparatus, one type of boiler, the inclined 
water-tube, is common to all. The generating units vary in size from 
2,700 kilowatts in the older stations to 7,500 kilowatts in the newer installa- 
tions, the latter units having an overload capacity for three hours of 
12,000 kilowatts, or over 16,000 H. P. Each one of these units will require 
a pump capable of supplying 30,000,000 gals, of water every twenty-four 
hours for condensing the 650,000 gals, of water used by the unit as steam. 
In general design the station layouts are similar, consisting of an engine 
room, a switchboard, either at one side or end, and condensing apparatus 
in the basement. Alongside the engine room is the boiler room, having 
either one, two or three floors for boilers, with the feed pumps, tanks and 
ash machinery in the basement, and a coal pocket with the necessary coal- 
handling machinery above' the boilers, the coal pocket in some instances 
having a capacity of 20.000 tons. The stations are located on the water 
front, using salt water for condensing purposes and handling coal and ashes 



LIGHTING, POWER AND SANITATION. 65 

by boat. About half of the stations are equipped with automatic stokers. 
All the stations are generating alternating current at high voltage, using 
either 6,600 or 11,000 volts, transmitting underground at this voltage to 
sub-stations, where step-down transformers and rotaries are used to 
tranform the electricity to the usual low-tension direct current used in 
traction and lighting service. 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. 
The Department of Health of New York is generally recognized as 
one of the most efficient bureaus of its kind to be found in any large city. 
At its head is the Commissioner of Health. The Board of Health con- 
sists of the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Police, and the 
Quarantine Officer of the State. There is an advisory board of physicians, 
composed of some of the most eminent medical practitioners in the city. 
The authority of the health department extends over every borough. The 
work of the department is divided into two branches, one of which is under 
a sanitary superintendent. In this division is a sanitary squad, composed 
of men detailed from the police department. A large corps of sanitary 
inspectors is employed and divided into mercantile inspectors, food in- 
spectors, meat inspectors, fruit inspectors, fish inspectors, lodging house 
inspectors and offensive-trade inspectors. The duties of these various 
officers is to see that the various sections of the sanitary code of the city 
are enforced. The vital statistics of the city are collected and preserved 
under the authority of the Department of Health, which also issues cer- 
tificates to minors, permitting them to accept employment under certain 
regulated conditions. 

A great deal of attention has been given by the Department of Health 
to improving the quality of milk brought into the city, with the result that 
the condition of this important aricle of food has been considerably im- 
proved. Recently the milk inspectors have gone out into the country, 
from which the milk has been obtained, in order to exercise sanitary 
supervision over the conditions under which the milk is handled at its 
source. 

There is a bureau called the Division of Contagious Diseases, composed 
of a medical corps, including diagnosticians, district medical inspectors, 
vaccinators, summer corps, oculists, medical inspectors of schools, school 
nurses, disinfectors and veterinarians. Each officer has his special duty. 
The diagnosticians are employed to diagnose causes of suspected conta- 
gious diseases ; the medical inspectors direct quarantine and see that it is 
properly observed ; the vaccinators move about among school chillren, 
lodging-house occupants, sweat-shop workers and others, and sometimes 
perform vaccination compulsorily in order to prevent the spread of small- 
pox ; the oculists examine the eyes of children for contagious diseases ; 
when these .forms of illness exist, the children are barred from school. 
There are over half a million children in the public schools in New York, 
and their lieaHh is the subject of the special attention of the oculists and 
medical inspectors. When the children become ill they are visited in their 
homes by nurses. 



66 NEJV YORK AXD J'lCINITV. 

There is a division of chemistry and a bacteriological laboratory. In 
these two bureaus milk, water, food and drugs are systematically analyzed, 
and the efficiency of disinfectants tested. Vaccine and antitoxins are pre- 
pared in a division of the laboratory. The bacteriological laboratory, work- 
ing in conjunction with the division of contagious diseases, makes anah'ses 
of sputum and other pathological specimens to discover evidence of dis- 
ease. There is a clinic for pulmonary diseases under the direction of the 
Department of Health. Here people are examined for evidence of con- 
sumption and other disorders of the respiratory apparatus. For the care 
of persons suffering from virulent contagious diseases, and for those who 
cannot be properly isolated, or receive proper treatment in their own homes, 
several contagious disease hospitals have been established in the city under 
the direction of the Department of Health. One of these hospitals is in 
Brooklyn, and one on North Brother's Island, at the entrance of the Long 
Island Sound, one at the foot of East Sixteenth Street, and one for con- 
tagious diseases of the eye, known as the Trachoma Hospital, at iiSth 
Street and Pleasant Avenue. 

STREET CLEANING DEPARTMENT. 

The department of the city whose duty it is to keep the thoroughfares 
clean, is probably the largest force of its kind under one management in 
the world. The factories at Barren Island, where the house garbage of the 
city is converted into grease and fertilizer, and dead animals disposed of, 
is the largest plant of its kind in existence. There are several divisions of 
the Street Cleaning Department; the responsible head of them all at the 
present time is Commissioner J. McG. Woodbury, a physician. His salary 
is $7,500 per year. The jurisdiction of the head of the department of street 
cleaning extends over Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx; the work 
of street cleaning and garbage disposal in the boroughs of Queens and 
Richmond are under the direction of the Commissioners of Public Works 
of those boroughs. 

In Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, the streets are swept chiefly 
by hand, from one to four times a day. There are about 2,500 sweepers ; 
they each have about 3.64 linear miles of street per day to clean. Sweeping- 
machines are used in the suburbs. Some of the streets, about 75 miles in 
all, are washed with a hose, or by what is called a "flushing machine." 
Flushing is very popular among the residents in the crowded tenement 
district, where street cleaning is especially difficult, owing to the fact that 
the thoroughfares receive much filth of all kinds. Flushing is said to 
carry much solid matter into the sewers, which later has to be removed 
by hand, but the expense thus caused seems to be disproportionate to the 
advantages gained. The sweepers wear white duck uniforms and white 
helmets. 

The garbage and ashes from dwelling houses are collected into large 
two-wheeled metal carts. There are about 1,500 of these carts and drivers. 
Each horse travels about 20 miles a day. The drivers wear brown uni- 
forms. The refuse is put outside of the doors of the houses, kitchen gar- 
bage in one receptacle and ashes in another. Rounds are generally made 



LIGHTING, POWER AND SANITATION. 67 

daily by the collectors, each of whom has about one mile of houses to 
cover. Light rubbish, such as paper and boxes, is collected by large, two- 
wheeled wooden trucks, when a card bearing the letters "P. & R." is dis- 
played in a window. A large amount of the garbage and ashes are col- 
lected by private scavengers who are paid by the individual house-holders. 
Most of the hotels dispose of their swill to persons who feed it to hogs ; 
some burn it. Many of the large manufacturing and mercantile houses 
remove their refuse at their own expense. The total cost of clearing and 
disposing of the wastes, therefore, is not known. The appropriation for 
the Department of Street Cleaning for 1904 was $5,447,712.20; of this there 
was appropriated for sweeping and carting, $3,992,937.30, and for final 
disposition, $939,333-50. 

The different kinds of refuse collected by the Department of Street 
Cleaning are disposed of in various ways. The kitchen garbage is hauled 
to wharves at the water front and there dumped into scows, which, when 
full, are towed to Barren Island, near Coney Island and Rockaway and 
Manhattan beaches. At Barren Island the garbage is conveyed mechani- 
cally from the scows to large cylinders or kettles, in which it is cooked by 
steam. The cooked garbage is then pressed in hydraulic presses, the liquid 
cooled, and the grease removed, and the solid residue used as a base for 
fertilizers. It is said that some of the grease is converted into delicate 
toilet soap. The tin cans which are found in the garbage are separated at 
the factory and converted into window weights. The transfer of garbage 
from the city and its utilization is paid for by the city by contract with a 
private corporation. 

The ashes, collected separately, are used for filling in low land ; they 
have sometimes been dumped at sea, to the frequent annoyance of bathers 
and other persons on the beaches. Some of the light rubbish is sorted, 
and the inflammable parts burned at a refuse furnace, built by the depart- 
ment at Forty-Seventh Street and the Hudson River. This plant was ex- 
perimental, but has demonstrated the feasibility of consuming the class of 
worthless material which it has had to handle. About 100 loads of rubbish 
are burned here every day; each load weighs about 1,000 lbs., and meas- 
ures 7^ cu. yds. By test it has been found that i lb. of refuse can be 
made to evaporate i^ lbs. of water, and that 232.7 H. P. can be pro- 
duced per hour. The grates of the furnace are of cast iron ; the fur- 
nace is of red brick, lined with fire brick ; natural draught is used. The 
stack is 114 ft. high. 

At Riker's Island, in Long Island Sound, 63^ acres of low-lying land 
have been reclaimed by filling with ashes. The ashes are hauled from the 
city water front to Riker's Island by boat, and transferred upon flat cars, 
which carry it near to the point of deposit ; orange peel buckets unload 
the ashes from the flat cars on to a conveyor, which carries it finally to 
the point of disposal. Brooklyn has a system for removing ashes on 
special trolley cars, each carrying large steel buckets, the ashes being 
dumped to fill low ground. 

Snow, also, is removed from the streets under the direction of the 
Department of Street Cleaning. Contracts are let for most of the work. 



68 NEJV YORK AND VICINITY. 

When a certain depth of snow has fallen, usually about 2^^ ins., the con- 
tractors are notified to begin work for its removal. Simple methods are 
used in this work. The snow is collected into piles ; it is then shoveled 
into carts ; these haul it to the river front and dump it into the water. 
Payment is made to the contractors according to the number of cubic 
yards removed, the quantities being computed from the known areas of 
the street cleaned and the estimated depth of snow. The most crowded 
thoroughfares are cleaned first. Sometimes several snowfalls occur before 
any of the principal streets are clean. No attempt is made to clear all 
of the streets of snow. Snow melting machines of various types have been 
experimented with, but have not been adopted. 

BROOKLYN SEWERAGE IMPROVEMENTS. 

Brooklyn, like Greater New York, of which it became a part in 1896, 
was made up of a number of communities which had been annexed to the 
original city from time to time. It has some of the largest sewers in the 
world, considerable lengths having diameters from 10 to 15 ft. In the older 
portion of the borough, some sewers have become inadequate, necessitating 
the construction in recent years of large relief sewers. The total area of 
the borough is 77.6 square miles, of which 26.1 lie south of the ridge of 
high land known as the backbone of Long Island. Large areas of this 
southerly and southeasterly portion are being rapidh^ developed by the 
laying out of miles of streets, and the erection of hundreds of houses from 
year to year. But this growth, instead of being from the shores inward, as 
is usual, has spread over the divide. These districts could not be drained 
into the sewers of the older city. Sewers built along the natural lines of 
drainage to the southerly shores would have been very long, and excessively 
costly, would have traversed wide areas not requiring sewers for many 
years, would have needed a long time for construction, delaying the relief 
to the developed districts, and would have discharged the sewage towards 
Coney Island, Gravesend Bay and other resorts. A number of purification 
works would have been demanded, and experience has shown such plants 
to be unsatisfactory and expensive. 

Consequently a scheme was adopted dividing the region into nine 
districts, six of which have areas of 2 to 8 square miles. The prominent 
features of the scheme are the following of the natural drainage lines as 
nearly as possible in each district, the driving of two tunnels west- 
ward through the ridge to carry the sewage and storm water of 
two large districts, and the house sewage of two small districts 
into the Narrows, the separating of the house sewage from the 
storm water of other large districts at trap basins so as to 
send the sewage to a large existing purification station, the utiliz- 
ing of practically all the pre-existing lateral sewers that had been 
parts of the old town systems, and the reaching of the built-up sections 
of the territory quickly. The estimated total cost of the system is about 
$14,000,000, including 98 miles of brick sewer from 30 to 180 ins. in diam- 
eter, 576 miles of 12 to 24-in. pipe sewers, four pumping stations and modi- 
fications of the East New York purification works. A large part of the 



LIGHTING, POWER AND SANITATION. 69 

undertaking has already been accomplished, involving some verj' deep 
trench work, and some unusually difficult tunnel construction, for which 
ingenious methods were devised. Mr. Henry R. Asserson is the chief en- 
gineer of the -Brooklyn sewer department, and these works have been de- 
signed and constructed under his direction. 



New Water Works in the Vicinity of 
New York* 



YONKERS WATER ^^•ORKS. 

Yonkers obtains it water from Grassy Sprain and Sprain Brook im- 
pounding reservoirs and from the Sawmill River. Beside the river there 
are fourteen 6-in. wells and a pumping station on the left bank, and a 
slow sand filter plant directly opposite. The reservoirs have no unusual 
engineering features, and with the wells are sufficient for needs, except in 
dr\' seasons. The filters, completed in June, 1904, and having a capacity 
of 3,000,000 gals, per day, are intended to supply deficiencies. There are 
two one-half-acre open beds and a 200,000-gal. filtered water reservoir, 
wholly in excavation, at such an elevation that the raw water can flow 
on to the beds b}^ gravity. A 20-in. main under the river connects the fil- 
tered water- reservoir with the pumping station. 

Each filter is 182 x 124 ft. and 8 ft. deep inside, with i ft. of gravel, 3 
ft. of sand and ;}l'^2 ft. of water. On the bottom of each bed are a 24-in. 
vitrified pipe main drain and lo-in. split tile laterals 18 ft. apart, laid with 
^-in. open joints. The filtered water reservoir is of the usual groined arch 
construction. Both it and the filters are of Portland cement concrete. The 
sand court, between the filters and the river, has an area of 900 sq. yds. and 
is paved with granolithic blocks. At the center of the court is a four- 
hopper sand washer of the ejector type. The concrete inlet chamber, at 
the northeasterly corner of the northerly filter, is only 6 x 8 ft. inside, and 
has no superstructure. The gate house, at the intersection of the front and 
division walls of the filters, contains duplicate chambers for the control 
of each filter separately, w^ith two brass plate orifices and float gauges for 
indicating the rate of filtration and loss of head, besides the necessary 
valves. Filter sand was obtained by washing somewhat unpromising 
local sand by means of an. ingenious device. 

There are also two water towers of brick with stone trimmings, con- 
nected with the works. Accompanying views .show their design. The 
top of the Lake A\-enuc tower is 400 ft. abo\'e the sea le\'el and from its 
ol)ser\-atorv a \-ery lu-:e view is had of the Hudson River, from New York 
Bay at the south, to Tappan Zee on the north, and from the Palisades on 
the west liank of the Hudson, to Long Island Sound on the east. The 
balcony of the Elm Street tower is -135 ft. above the sea level, and one of 
the finest views in this part of the country is obtained from its observa- 
tory. This view takes in Long Island Sound, the East River, the Hudson 
River, and all the surrounding cities, towns and villages within a radius 
of 20 miles. 




ELM STREET WATER TOWER, YONKERS. 



72 NEJV YORK AND VICINITY. 

The dam at the Grassy Sprain reservoir, which is the main supply for 
the city, was increased in height during the last two years 12 ft., so that 
now when the reservoir is full, instead of 400,000,000 gals, storage, there 
are 900,000,000 gals. By this addition to the main reservoir, wnth the filter 
plant added during 1904, the city is well taken care of for the present. 

Mr. Edward L. Peene is the superintendent of the works. Mr. Allen 
Hazen designed the falter plant, and Tucker & Vinton, Incorporated, of 
New York, huilt it. The total cost, including engineering, was about 
$54,000. To reach the filters or wells from New York, take Sixth or 
Ninth Avenue elevated to 155th Street terminus, and New York & 
Northern Railroad train to Nepperhan station, then walk north one quarter 
of a mile. To visit the towers — Lake Avenue, take Park Avenue cars 
from N. Y. C. & H. R. R. station ; Elm Street tower, Mt. Vernon cars from 
same station. 

WATER FILTERS AT POUGHKEEPSIE. 

A covered slow sand filter has recently been built for the Hudson 
River State Hospital. Its capacity is 1,000,000 gals, per day, and it is sit- 
uated between the railroad and the Hudson River, from which the raw 
water is drawn. There are two i-6-acre beds and a 200,000-gal. filtered 
water reservoir. A small pumping station near by contains two pumps 
for supplying raw water to the filters, and two for raising filtered water to 
the hospital. The sand court, 46 ft. square, is on top of the groined roof 
arches with one diagonal in the center line of the division wall between 
the two filters. The ventilators which would have come within the square 
were omitted, but four holes into each filter, guarded by trap doors, allow 
clean sand to fall on to either bed whenever desired. 

The sand washer consists of two reinforced concrete tanks supported 
on two walls 7 ft. high, standing on the sand court. One tank is divided 
into receiving and washing, and the other into trap and outlet chambers. 
The two tanks are close together, and a lip on the first overhangs the wall 
of the second. One 3-in. pipe from each filter rises beside the end of the 
first tank, to which the discharge hose of the sand ejector can be attached. 
In the washing chamber are a 2V2-in. cast-iron header and six ^-in. brass 
pipes 4 ft. long, perforated with forty-four i-i6-in. holes each. The por- 
table sand ejector is a 16 x 32]/2-in. steel box 13 ins. deep, containing a pair 
of ejector nozzles and a pair of pipes for supplying water to aid in the 
feeding of the sand. The box has a hopper top. The regulator house can 
be entered from the filter roof, and through it access is had to either 
filter; there are no sand runs. Aside from these novel features the filter 
plant conforms to the well-known modern American design. The plant 
was designed by Messrs. Hazen & Whipple, and built by the T. A. Gil- 
lespie Company, of New York, at a total cost of about $40,000. 

At Poughkeepsie there is also the oldest sand-filter plant in this. 
countr3\ designed by J. P. Kirkwood, and built in 1872. It was enlarged 
in 1896 by Supt. G. E. Fowler. It was built as an open plant, lint has re- 
cently been covered. 




LAKE AVENUE WATER TOWER, YONKERS. 



74 



A'£/f YORK AXn I'lClXITV. 



THE EAST .1EKS]-:V WATER COMPANY. 

The plant of this company is located on the Passaic River, at Little 
Falls, N. J. It comprises a pumping station having a daily capacity of 
50,cco,cco gals, and purification works having a daily nominal capacity of 
40,000,000 gals. In the pumping station there are four Riedler pumps, three 
of which have a capacity of 10,000,000 gals, daily each, against a head of 
300 ft., and one of 20,000,000 gals, daily capacity against a head of 115 ft. 
The plant is arranged so that the pumps can be driven by either steam or 
water-power, there being usually sufficient water in the river to operate 
the plant for the greater part of each year. 

The water from the high-pressure pumps is delivered through a 51 -in. 
pteel main to a reservoir of 150,000,000 gals, capacity, located in Great 





jM 







LITTLE FALLS PUMPING STATION. 



Notch, on Garret Mountain, at an elevation of 425 ft. above tide. From this 
reservoir the primary distribution is made through 51-in. and 42-in. steel 
mains to the following municipalities : Montclair, Kearney, Harrison, Bay- 
onne, West Orange, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge and Nutley; the village of 
Little Falls is also supplied directly from the force main. The water de- 
livered by the low-pressure pump goes to supply the cities of Paterson and 
Passaic, through a 42-in. steel main, the low service in Paterson being on 
the distributing reservoirs, and the high service on direct pumping, while 
all of Passaic is on direct pumping through 24-in. and 20-in. cast iron 
extensions from the 42-in. steel conduit. In Passaic the low service 
system is controlled by pressure regulators. The population supplied by the 
high-service system is about 110,000, while that on the low service is about 



76 NEir YORK AND riCINirV. 

1/0,000. The average per capita consumption is approximately 90 gals, per 
day. All water sold to the various municipalities and corporations is meas- 
ured, except in a few cases, by Venturi meters, there being eight of these 
in service. 

The East Jersey Water Company and other water companies are con- 
trolled by the New Jersey General Security Company, which company also 
controls the distribution systems of Paterson, Passaic and Montclair, each 
of which is owned by an independent company and furnished with water 
b}' the East Jersey Water Compan3^ Of the distribution systems controlled 
by the New Jersey General Security Company all services in Montclair are 
metered, while in Paterson about 30 per cent, and in Passaic about 50 
per cent, of all connections are metered. The total length of distributing 
mains in these three cities, is about 200 miles. 

The Jersey City Water Supply Company, also controlled, by the New 
Jersey General Security Company, supplies Jersey City from an impounding 
reservoir on the watershed of the Rockaway River, at Boonton, N. J. This 
reservoir, the aqueduct line to Jersey City, of which 75 per cent, is steel 
pipe 72 ins. in diameter, and 25 per cent, is cut-and-cover concrete conduit 
and brick tunnel of the horseshoe tj'pe, and the main dam at Boonton, are 
described on another page. 

LITTLE FALLS FILTERS. 

At Little Falls, N. J., is the filtration plant of the East Jersey Water 
Company, one of the most widely known filter installations in this country. 
It is a riiechanical plant, and noteworthy for its large capacity, as well as 
for several innovations in construction. The works have a nominal capa- 
city of 40,cco,oco gals, per day. and are designed for the purification of tlie 
water supplied to Paterson, Passaic, Montclair and the interurban districts. 
Construction was begun in the summer of 1901, and the filters were first 
used September 4, 1902, although not wholly completed for some time after- 
wards. The sub-structure and practically the whole superstructure, except 
the roofs, is of concrete, reinforced where necessary, with Ransome twisted 
steel rods. 

Raw water is taken from the head race of the pump house through a 
66-in. steel pipe, discharging into a concrete standpipe in the coagulating 
basin. In this standpipe the water receives the coagulant, and, after mix- 
ing by the natural agitation, is let into the basin. From the surface of the 
basin, at the opposite end, the water passes to the filters, of which there are 
thirty-two, rectangular, 15 x 24 ft., on top of the filtered-water reservoir, 
into which the water from the filters passes through Weston controllers. 
A 66-in. steel suction main leads back to the pumping station. Over the 
coagulating basin is a house 46 x 132 ft., with walls 13 ft. high, contain- 
ing an ofifice, machinery room, chemical store room, laboratories, etc. The 
filters are arranged in rows of eight, on either side of two pipe galleries. 
Two wings from the main house cover the pipe galleries, and one-third the 
length of each filter on either side. Sulphate of alumina is the chemical 
used, and during freshets, when the alkalinity of the water is very low, 
soda ash is also employed. 



NEW WATER WORKS IN J'ICINITY OF NEW YORK. 77 

Each filter has a surface area of 360 sq. ft., and, including the concrete 
deck, which covers two-thirds of its length, was built as a monolith. The 
inlet to each filter opens into a trough, extending along three sides, and 
the longitudinal center line, which serves to distribute the entering water 
and collect the dirty water during washing. The bed is a 30-in. layer of 
screened quartz sand on a 5-in. layer of fine gravel, and a 2-in. layer of 
crushed quartz. A cast-iron header on the center line of the bottom of the 
tank with i^-in. cast-iron laterals, 6 3-32 ins. apart, fitted with Continental 
strainer heads, form the strainer system. In washing, compressed air and 
water are used alternately. The plant has given excellent results in ser- 
vice. It was designed by the engineers of the East Jersey Water Company 
and the New York Continental Jewell Filtration Company, and built by the 
latter company and the T. A. Gillespie Company. J. Waldo Smith was the 
chief engineer, George W. Fuller, consulting expert, and William B. Fuller, 
resident engineer for the water compan}^, and Chai'les L. Parmelee was 
•chief engineer for the filter compan}^ 

NEW WATER SUPPLY WORKS FOR JERSEY CITY. 
(Boonton Dam and Conduit.) 

Jersey Citj', with a population of about 215,000, and a water consump- 
tion approximating 32,000,000 gals, per day, was formerly supplied by the 
East Jersey Water Company. Last year works were completed for an 
independent supply. They comprise an impounding reservoir of a capacity 
of 7,600,000,000 gals., the Boonton masonry dam, the Parsippany earth 
dike, and a conduit 23 miles long, partly concrete and partly steel pipes, 
conveying the water by gravity to the city. The reservoir is 2 miles long, 
}4 mile wide and has an area of 900 acres ; its maximum depth is 100 ft. 
at the dam, and the average 25 ft. The soil being generally thin and poor 
was not stripped, although deposits of organic matter near buildings and 
in other places were removed and wooded areas were cleared and grubbed. 
The area of the watershed above the dam is 122 sq. miles. 

Boonton dam has a total length of 3,115 ft., of which 2,150 ft. are 
Masonry, with a maximum height of 140 ft. Only the Tansa and Bhatgur 
dams, in India, exceed this dam in length. It contains about 260,000 cu. yds. 
of masonry, and at each end terminates with an earth embankment having 
a concrete core wall. The masonry is cyclopean — large blocks of stone laid 
in very wet concrete. This class of masonry has since been used in the 
extension of the New Croton dam, and is being used in the Cross River 
dam, but previously the only large dam known to have been built of such 
masonry is the Vyrnwy dam of Liverpool's water system. All sizes and 
shapes of stones were used, up to about 7 tons ; they were generally 
allowed to drop 2 or 3 ft. into the concrete bed. The dam is 17 ft. thick 
at top and 75 ft. at the bottom of the maximum section. Near the north 
end is a masonry waste weir 300 ft. long, with its crest 5 ft. below the top 
of the dam. 

Upstream and downstream gate-chambers, connected by four 48-in. 
steel pipes, control the flow of the water into the conduit, which begins at 
the downstream chamber. The conduit has a capacity of 70,000,000 gals. 



78 XEJV YORK AND VICINITY. 

per day. Of its length 3.5 miles are reinforced concrete, 2 miles masonry- 
lined tunnels, and 17.5 miles 72-in. steel pipe. The pipe line crosses the 
Hackensack and Passaic rivers and the Great Piece and Hackensack 
meadows, which are frequently inundated.' Across the former meadow 
the pipe is 3 ft. under ground, and across the latter on an embankment 
above extreme tide level, in order to prevent its floating, if empty when 
submerged. At Jersey City the pipe terminates in connections to two 
distributing reservoirs. 

The concrete conduit and the tunnels are of horseshoe section, 8.5 x 
8.5 ft. inside, the tunnels being lined with brick and the conduit rein- 
forced with Ransome twisted rods. Rapidity of construction was a feature 
of the conduit work, 18,500 lin. ft. having been built between July 25 and 
November 14, 1903. On one section a gang of thirty-eight men averaged 
40 ft. for sixty-five working days. 

Mr. J. Waldo Smith was consulting engineer, Mr. Edlow W. Harrison 
chief engineer and Mr. William B. Fuller resident engineer for these 
works. Boonton dam can be reached via the Delaware, Lackawanna & 
Western Railroad to Boonton, Christopher and Barclay Street Ferries from 
New York. The works were built and are owned by the Jersey City Water 
Supply Company. 

HACKENSACK FILTERS. 

The Hackensack Water Company supplies water from the Hackensack 
River to Hoboken and thirty-three smaller cities and towns, with a total 
population of 225,000. Water is taken from the river at New Milford and 
pumped about 22 miles to a reservoir at Weehawken, where there is also 
a large water tower, nearly opposite 42d Street, New York, visible from 
many points in the city. The main pumping station contains an 18,000,000 
and a 12,000,000-gal. AUis vertical triple-expansion engine and a Worthing- 
ton high-duty pump of io,ooo,ooo-gal. capacity. On account of increasing 
contamination of the river a large mechanical filter plant has been built, 
and is now nearing completion, very near the pumping station. A reservoir 
of 86o,ooo,ooo-gal. capacity has also been constructed at Hillsdale, the 
dam being about 4 miles from the filters, to supplement the river flow in 
dry seasons. An interesting feature of this reservoir is the use of steel 
sheet piling as the cut-off below the ground surface under the earth dam, 
with a concrete core wall above. The present daily consumption is ap- 
proximately 18,000,000 gals. 

Local conditions make it necessary to pump the raw water to the 
new i2,ooo,ooo-gal. settling basin on a knoll near the pumping station. 
Embankments for the basin were made of the fine sand taken from the 
excavation. The inner slopes are lined with puddle, protected with con- 
crete paving below, and dry stone paving above, a berm at mid-height ; 
the bottom is paved with concrete. To pump the raw water two Allis- 
Chalmers 24,000,000-gal. submerged centrifugal pumps, driven by horizontal 
tandem-compound engines, direct-connected to the vertical pump shafts, 
have been installed in the station. 

The filters, eight in number, of nominally 24,000,000-gal. daily capacity. 



NEJV WATER WORKS IN VICINITY OF NEW YORK. 79 

the 1,200,000-gal. filtered-water reservoir, the pipe and operating galleries, 
laboratories and chemical apparatus are contained in a concrete and brick 
structure, ii8 x 148 ft. in plan, part of it four stories high. Arranged four 
on each side of the pipe gallery and over the filtered-water reservoir, the 
filter tanks are reinforced concrete monoliths, each 46.67 x 25.83 x 9.5 ft., 
with walls 9 ins. thick and floors 6 ins. thick. Each is divided longitudi- 
nally by a reinforced concrete trough, 30 ins. wide overall, the inlet for 
settled water and the outlet for wash water, which contains the main air 
pipe supplying compressed air for agitating the sand during washing. 
From each side of the trough's top there extend to the walls six concrete 
lateral gutters for collecting dirty wash water. The collector and strainer 
system is a novel combination of hollow concrete blocks and perforated 
brass plates laid on the bottom of the filter, so formed that when assem- 
bled their upper surface is a checker-work of hopper-shaped square depres- 
sions separated by sharp ridges intersecting at right angles, the purpose 
being to prevent undue disturbance of the gravel while the filter is being 
washed. Compressed air is distributed through i-in. brass tubes perforated 
along their bottoms, extending from each side of the bottom of the concrete 
trough to the filter walls, spaced 8^ ins. center to center and laid close to 
the tops of the strainers. Above the strainers and air pipes are 10 ins. 
of graded gravel, 2.5 ft. of sand and 4 ft. of water. The rate controllers, 
of the float and balanced valve type, are unusually large. The various 
devices for regulating each filter are mounted on an operating table, and 
the eight tables are symmetrically arranged in the operating gallery over the 
pipe gallery. 

Wash water is stored in a reinforced concrete tank near the filters, 
10.5 ft. deep, 43 ft. diameter, set on concrete columns so that its water 
surface is 31 ft. above the filter sand. Beneath this tank are eight steel 
tanks for storing compressed air, each 6 ft. diameter and 22.5 ft. high. 
These tanks are filled by pumps in the filter house. Venturi meters have 
been provided for measuring the water filtered and the chemical solutions. 
Hering & Fuller are the consulting engineers for the plant ; it was designed 
and built under their direction by William B. Fuller and John H. Gregory, 
with E. G. Manahan as resident engineer. To reach this plant take Erie 
Railroad, Chambers or 23d Street Ferry, to New Milford station. 

CEDAR GROVE RESERVOIR, NEWARK WATER WORKS. 

September, 1900, the East Jersey Water Company turned over to the 
water department of Newark a system of works which the company had 
built and had been operating for eight years, comprising three reservoirs 
on the watershed of the Pequannock, 21 miles northwest, and two rivetted 
steel conduits 48 and 42 ins. in diameter, connected with two distributing 
reservoirs within the city. To provide a large supply much nearer than 
the storage reservoirs, the Board of Street and Water Commissioneers, in 
1901, decided to build a reservoir at Cedar Grove, about a mile from the 
conduits and 7 miles from the city, to be connected with the conduits and 
the distribution system. 

Cedar Grove reservoir is 5,000 ft. long, 1,100 ft. wide, has a maximum 



80 NEJV YORK AND VICIXITY. 

depth of 50 ft., an average depth of 30 ft. and a capacity of 700,000,000 gals., 
equivalent to 30 days' consumption. Three dams were necessary, on north, 
south and west sides, respectively, 650, 825 and 2,700 ft. long on top. They 
are earth embankments with core walls of i :2 :5 concrete 4 ft. wide on 
top, battered J^ in. per ft. on each side. All the dams have 2:1 slopes both 
sides. The smaller ones are 12, and the largest 18 ft. wide on top. Owing 
to disintegrated rock in the foundation, which had to be excavated, the 
west core wall has a maximum height of 102 ft. For the portion of the 
wall below the ground surface, tracks were laid on stringers supported by 
logs across the trench, and the concrete deposited from cars through can- 
vas chutes. When the wall had been built nearly to ground level, the 
track was elevated to a trestle bolted to the top of the lower part of the 
wall, by means of bolts previovisly embedded in the concrete. The trestle 
bents were 20 ft. high of 6 x 6-in. timbers, braced with i-in. boards, the 
posts having the same batter as the wall. Bents were 8 ft. apart and 
served also as the posts of the forms. The trestle was raised three times 
as the wall was built up. 

Such portions of the reservoir as required it were cleared and grubbed. 
In general the bottom of the basin was stripped to a depth of 6 in., and 12 
in. were removed from the sites of the dams. The outlet, from the 
easterly side, is through a tunnel 3,000 ft. long in sandstone and trap rock, 
from the easterly end of which a 60-in. steel pipe leads to the city. The 
gate chambers are near the northerly end of the reservoir, the inlet cham- 
her being on the east side, and the outlet chamber on the west. The con- 
necting pipe from the conduits from the watershed enters from the north, 
and a concrete conduit extends from the inlet chamber to a low standpipe 
at the extreme south end of the reservoir. There is a by-pass connection 
from the pipe at the north to the outlet chamber, and a concrete outlet 
conduit extends from the chamber across the basin to the tunnel. Good 
provision is thus made for circulation and for cutting out the reservoir 
whenever necessary. The concrete conduits are reinforced with expanded 
metal, and made of heavy section to prevent floating as well as to resist 
external pressures when empty. The outlet conduit is designed to resist 
bursting pressure, so that it can be used when the reservoir is empty to 
"conve}' water from the by-pass pipe to the tunnel. The outlet is a double 
conduit and has been tested to 34 lbs. pressure. All the conduits are horse- 
shoe shaped 5 ft. in diameter. 

Mr. M. R. Sherrerd, as engineer and superintendent of the department, 
was the chief engineer of the work. The nearest railroad station to Cedar 
Grove reservoir is Great Notch, on the Erie Railroad, Greenwood Lake 
branch. Chambers and Twenty-Third Street ferries from New York. 

NEW \\'ATER WORKS FOR EAST ORANGE, N. J. 
East Orange, about 12 miles from New York, is a residential suburb. 
It has a population of about 25,000, and uses approximately 2,500,000 gals, 
of water daily. Municipal works have recently been completed, compris- 
ing twenty 6 and 8-in. driven wells in the valley of Canoe Creek, about 
6 miles from the town, a pumping station near the wells, force and supply 



NEW WATER WORKS IN VICINITY OF NEW YORK. 81 

mains and a novel reinforced concrete reservoir. The wells get water 
from a large pocket of coarse gravel about 20 ft. thick, lying 75 to no ft. 
below the surface and covered by a thick stratum of impervious hardpan. 
To control the whole area in which wells could be driven to interfere with 
the city's wells 640 acres of land, covering the whole gravel pocket, have 
been bought. A catchment area of more than 17 sq. miles feeds the water- 
bearing stratum. Static pressure on the wells is sufficient to cause the 




STAXDPIPE, EAST ORANGE, N. J. 

Vvater to rise 16 to 20 ft. above the surface. A flow of 500,000 to 750,000- 
gals. in twenty-four hours has been obtained from each well, and their 
combined capacity is about 7,500,000 gals, daily. At the upper end of each 
drive pipe is a brick manhole 5 ft. in diameter. Provision has been made 
to lower the wells 26 ft. by siphon action. Twenty additional wells, inde- 
pendent of the first twenty, are being driven on the opposite side of the 
pumping station, as a duplicate supply for the needs of the more distant 
future. 



82 NEir YORK AND J'/CINITV. 

The pumping station is a one-story brick building, with a 45-ft. sq. 
boiler room, a 69 x 53-ft. pump room and a 25 x 80-ft. coal pocket. The 
suction well has two 30-ft. square compartments and a maximum depth of 
water of 15 ft., and being below flood level in the creek its flqpr, walls and 
roof are of concrete, sufficiently heavy to prevent flotation. There are three 
125-H. P. Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers, and two 4,ooo,OQO-gal. 
Snow horizontal cross-compound engines. The reservoir is covered, 
139 X 240 X 21.25 ft inside, divided by a partition wall in the middle. Its 
capacity is 5.000,000 gals. Special pains were taken to make the structure 
monolithic. If denuded of concrete the reinforcing steel would resemble a 
huge bird cage. Exterior walls are 12 ins. and the partition wall 14 ins. 
thick, all reinforced by triangular buttresses 12 ins. thick, spaced 10 ft. 
on centers. The roof, 5 ins. thick, is supported by columns 12 ins. square, 
in line with the buttresses. The floor is 8 ins. thick, excepting under the 
buttresses it is 12 ins. The inner sides of the walls and floor were water- 
proofed by placing next to the face of the forms i in. of mortar, composed 
of I part Portland cement, 2 parts sand, mixed with a solution of light 
soft-soap i!4 lbs., 15 gals, water and 3 lbs. powdered alum to each bag of 
cement. The walls were subjected to their maximum load two weeks 
after the forms were removed and before the roof was on by filling the 
earth against them. Before the earth covering was placed on the roof, 
four horses attached to a 3-ton wagon were driven over it. No noticeable 
eft'ect was produced by these tests. 

An accompanying illustration shows the reinforced concrete surge 
standpipe, 10 ft. diameter inside, and 40 ft. high, built at the summit of the 
24-in. cast-iron main from the pumping station to the reservoir. From this 
place the water flows by gravity, much the greater part of the distance, to 
the reservoir. 

Mr. C. C. Venneule, of New York, was the engineer for the works. 
The wells and pumping station are 2}4 miles from Milburn station on the 
Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, on the Parsonage Hill road. 
The reservoir can be reached by D., L. & W. R. R. trains to South Orange; 
it is on South Orange Avenue, aliout one mile from the station. 



Miscellaneous. 



THE FLAT-IRON BUILDING. 

The Fuller Building, commonly known as the Flat Iron Building, is 
one of the sights of upper Broadway. It is situated on a triangular plot 
of ground at Twenty-Third Street, and has a length of about 175 ft., a 
width of about 75 ft. at one end, running to a point at the other, and rises 
to a height of nearly 250 ft. above the curb. It has twenty floors above the 
street level, and a basement and sub-basement, and is equipped with every 
conceivable convenience. It has six rapid-running Otis hydraulic elevators, 
and its own steam and electric lighting plant, and furnishes heat and light 
to tenants free of charge. It was erected by the George A. Fuller Company. 
Through the courtesy of Mr. Arthur J. Herschmann, mechanical engineer 
for the United States Realty & Construction Company, the members of the 
New England Water Works Association are invited to visit this building 
and obtain a view from the roof, which overlooks the surrounding portions 
of the city. 

SOME LARGE ENGINEERING WORKS IN NEW YORK AND VICINITY, 
PROJECTED AND IN PROGRESS. 

The following incomplete tabular statement can scarce fail of being 
impressive, suggesting, as it does, the enormous demands for capital and 
labor, as well as professional services, in the further development of the 
Metropolis. Some of the figures given have been published with more or 
less authority, but others are scarcely more than the roughest approxima- 
tions : 
Pennsylvania Railroad tunnels, terminals and connections. . . . $60,000,000 

New York Central Railroad terminal improvements 25,000,000 

Extension of the New York rapid transit system 100,000,000 

Subways in New York City, proposed by the Metropolitan 

Street Railway Company, and others 40,000,000 

Additional tunnels under the Hudson River 10,000,000 

Erie Railroad improvements 20,000,000 

New York State barge canal 101,000,000 

Passaic Valley sewerage system 7,000,000 

Aqueduct Commissioners' work 5.000,000 

Additional water supply for New York City 100,000,000 

Filtration of the Croton water supply 10,000,000 

Total of the above $478,000,000 

This list does not include large works which will be carried out by the 
regular city departments, the national governm.ent. the railroads, the street 
railways and other large corporations ; nor does it take account of the very 



84 NEIV YORK AND VICINITY. 

extensive building operations constantly going on. In addition, there will 
probably be other large undertakings projected within the next few years. 
The total may easily exceed half a billion dollars. 

WEST POINT. 

West Point, N. Y., the location of the United States Military /vcademy, 
is situated on the west bank of the Hudson River about 50 miles from New 
York. The Military Academy, the most famous school of military instruc- 
tion in the world, is the place at which the Government provides pre- 
liminary training for commissioned officers for the army. It was founded 
in 1754, as a school for engineers and artillerists. Its existence was- 
threatened several times in the early period of its history, and it was not 
until 1817, when Major Sylvanus Thayer, an engineer ofificer, was made 
superintendent, that the school was placed upon a firm and enduring basis. 
An act of Congress makes possible the appointment of one cadet from each 
Congressional District, one from the District of Columbia, one from Porto 
Rico, two from each State at large and forty from the United States at 
large. The maximum number of cadets permissible is, therefore, a little 
over 500. 

During the four-year course the cadets are given little time for recre- 
ation except during the months of July and August. At other seasons they 
spend almost their entire time in study or at drills. At the end of the 
second year the second class is given two months furlough, at which time 
they are allowed to leave the academy. After the graduating exercises,, 
which occur during the latter part of June, the first and third classes and 
the entering fourth class go into camp for July and August. Studies are 
dropped during this period. While the first and third classes have few 
duties other than military drills, usually occurring in the morning, the 
fourth-class men pass through a strenuous period of training. 

The increase in the size of the standing army shortly after the Spanish- 
American War resulted in a demand for more officers and the gradual in- 
crease in the number of cadets beyond the capacity of the academy to pro- 
vide for them. An act of Congress recently provided for an ultimate ex- 
penditure of over $5,000,000 for the enlargement of the Academy. As a result 
of an architectural competition a firm of Boston architects, Messrs. Cram,' 
Goodhue & Ferguson, were engaged by the War Department to prepare 
plans for enlarging the Academy, Mr. Frederick Law Olmstead being 
retained for the landscape work. Final plans, prepared under the direction 
of the Superintendent of the Military Academy, Brig.-Gen. A. L. Mills,. 
were approved by the Secretary of War, Hon. Elihu Root, and the work 
is now under way. Congress also appropriated money for the construction 
of a new water supply, and the work is being carried out under the direction 
of Major M. M. Patrick, Corps of Engineers. The watershed available 
embraces a considerable area, and a gravity supply will be had through a 
pipe line several miles in length. 

It was at West Point that a massive chain was stretched across .the 
Hudson River to prevent the British ships in New York from intercepting 
the overland supplies of the American army, which were being transported 



86 NEJV YORK AND I'lCINITY. 

from New England to the starving troops in the Middle States, and were 
crossing the river at Newburgh, a few miles above West Point. A portion 
of this chain can be seen near the soldiers' monument, and is of great 
interest to visitors. The ruins of the old forts, Putnam and Clinton, and 
the old brick arches of the cells of the former, are of interest to engineers, 
as showing the condition of the masonry after so many years of use and 
exposure. Buildings of special interest are : Grand Hall, containing the 
kitchens for the corps of cadets ; Memorial Hall, containing the dancing 
hall, portraits of distinguished graduates and memorial tablets of graduates 
that have fallen in battle, battle flags, etc.. and the museum in the Academy 
Building, also the Library Building. 

West Point may be reached by either the New York Central Railroad or 
the West Shore Railroad, express trains taking about one hour and a half 
from New York. The steamers of the Albany Day Line afford the pleasantest 
means of access, and give three hours at the Point, which is time enough 
to visit the buildings and see the cadets in camp on the plain. Parties de- 
siring can remain to see the dress parade before supper, every day except 
Saturday, and return by train in the evening. Hotel accommodations may 
be obtained at the West Point Hotel. 



A Few Manufacturing Plants of Interest 
to Water Works Men* 



PLANT OF HENRY R. WORTHINGTON, AT HARRISON, N. J. 

The new plant of Henry R. Worthington is situated in Harrison, N. 
J-> qH miles from New York, and can be reached by the Delaware, Lacka- 
wanna & Western Railroad, ferries at Barclay and Christopher Streets, and 
also by the Pennsylvania Railroad, ferries from Cortlandt, Desbrosses and 
Twenty-Third Streets. Direct trains on the Delaware, Lackawanna & 
Western Railroad convey passengers within easy walking distance of the 
plant, and the Turnpike cars, to be found at the Pennsylvania Terminal in 
Jersey City, pass the door of the pump works. 

The plant occupies 34J^ acres of ground, and is thoroughly modern in 
every particular. Here will be found the latest designs of reciprocating 
engines direct connected to electric generators, surface condensers, boiler- 
feed pumps, air and circulating pumps, air compressors, mill supply pumps 
and Underwriter fire pumps, together with cooling towers and the most 
modern of boiler equipments, making the power house one of extreme in- 
terest to engineers. The Worthington Company has practically done away 
with belt transmission, and nearly all the tools in this immense plant are 
directly connected to motors. 

The moulding machine foundry is one of unusual interest, owing to its 
imiqueness, it being the first foundry of its kind ever constructed. It is, 
in fact, a gigantic moulding machine in itself. In this room the pouring 
of iron proceeds continually, and the emptying of flasks takes place practi- 
cally immediately after pouring, only sufficient time elapsing to allow the 
iron to "set." All the buildings in tlTis plant are built in the most approved 
manner, to come well within the most stringent requirements of the Under- 
"writers. Visitors will be most cordially welcome, and will find that at- 
tendants will be furnished them to conduct them about the works. 

PLANT OF THE A. P. SMITH MANUFACTURING COMPANY AT 
NEWARK, N. J. 

The A. P. Smith Manufacturing Company, of Newark, N. J., was in- 
corporated in March, 1896, under the laws of the State of New Jersey, for 
the manufacture of patent tapping machines, fire hydrants and other water 
works specialties. The factory is situated at the eastern end of the city, 
directly on the Passaic River and adjacent to the Central Railroad of New 
Jersey, and about one mile from the Pennsylvania Railroad. Since be- 
.ginning manufacturing, the company has extended largely and is now man- 
ufacturing some of the best water works specialties on the market. These 



AUG 26 t9C5 



^^ i^ElV YORK AND VICINITY. 

^ \ 
comprise : The S^iith patent tapping machine, for making large connec- 
tions to any sized main without reducing the pressure, at present in use in 
nearly every large city in the United States, and in many of those in for- 
eign countries ; the Corporation tapping machine, used for inserting corpo- 
ration cocks under pressure, and one of the lightest and most durable ma- 
chines of its kind; the O'Brien patent lead furnace, in use in many cities, 
and considered by many water works superintendents to be one of the most 
economical tools for melting lead while laying pipe ; the Sherrerd-French 
patent valve-inserting machine ; the French pipe cutter, for all sizes of pipes ; 
the O'Neil patent calking machine, used with steam or compresed air, suit- 
able for pipe of 24 to 48 ins. diameter inclusive, used in Stockholm, Sweden; 
by two of the largest gas companies in London, and as occasion requires, in 
Newark and Pittsburg; the O'Brien fire hydrant, in use in many cities of 
the United States; and the -high-pressure fire hydrant now used by the 
Government at Washington, the city of Philadelphia, and adopted by 
Greater New York. The specialties include all kinds of brass work, and 
the patent connections for use with the Smith tapping machine, also special 
high-pressure valves for any pressure. 

The factory can be reached from New York by the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road, to Market Street station, Newark, thence east on the Plank Road 
car to Brill Street, at the foot of which the factory is located. Or by the 
Central Railroad, from Liberty Street station, to East Ferry Street station, 
thence east on Ferry Street to Brill Street. Or by Plank Road car from 
Cortlandt Street, New York, which passes by Brill Street. 

NEPTUNE METER COMPANY'S PLANT. 

The Neptune Meter Company's factory is situated in Long Island City,, 
about five minute's trolley ride from the ferry, which runs from the foot 
of Thirty-Fourth Street, New York. The company is now engaged in ex- 
tensive additions to its works, being made under contract with Westing- 
house, Church, Kerr & Company, of New York. This factory is one of the 
most complete of its kind in the world, and is running now night and day. 
Members and guests of the association will be welcome. 

NATIONAL METER COMPANY'S WORKS. 

The National Meter Company is preparing a useful book for the mem- 
bers of the Association, and in it will tell the story of its extensive works, 
better than it could be told by the committee. 










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Diagram showing RglaHve ElGvahons oF RosQrvoirs 



NgwYork Wo l-er Supply. 
CROTON, BRONX AND BYRAM WATERSHEDS 

Showing Reservoirs.AqueductsanuPipe Lines 

Aug 1,1905. 



tlie Munson, P 

ve- New Have_ 

the ^^^ York 

(Ward I 

g River ... 

New York 

Brooklyn 

North Gen 

\- Hoboken 

^J- Norwich, I 

^^- Ocean Stea 

^^- River . . . 

=J- Old Domir 

. '^; River . . . 

g^- Pacific Mai 

^^^- North Ri 

'J- Panama R. 

;J- North Ri 

^;- People's L 

5J- North Rv 

''■■ Providence, 

f- Quebec S. ! 

River 

V^ Red Star, P 
^^: Scandinavia 
<,.• Stonington, 
S^- White Star, 
1^; Wilson. Piei 

St! 

St. Adams Hou! 
^^t. Street ... 
^t- Albermarle- 
='t- way and \ 
Albert— 79 U 
gj- American— C 
^J- 15th St. .. 
gt- Ansonia— Bn 
gj- Ashland— 4tl 
gj- Ashton— Mac 
gj- Astor (New 
gj- 44th Street 
^7'-- Audubon— C( 

St 
^*; *Balm"orai— L 
gj- 114th Stree 
^'- Bancroft— Co 
qj. 21st street 
S^- Bartholdi— B 
S}:- Belvedere— 4f 
qj:" Beresford— "Vt 
Sh Central Pa - 
gh Berkeley— Fii 
3? Brevoort— 11 
^^ 8th Street 
gj Bristol— 122 "V 
g(." Broadway Ce; 
g{." tween Bleep 
gj.' Brunswick— H 

gj.' Street 

g(-' Buckingham- 

Ave. and Ee 

Cadillac— Bro; 

Cambridge — F 

olis *Cecil— 118th 

'est Avenue 

ity, Chastaigneray— Ml 

lich Street 

fer- Clarendon— CoTuer 

3m- St 

*Colonial— W. 125th 
I of Continentals— North 
va- -way and East ?' 
of Cosmopolitan--* 
bers Street 
Criterion— 41st 
.) Delmonico's — 
Earlington — 49 
F32 Empire— Broai 
E31 Endicott— Cok 

E31 Street 

H Everett — Nortl 

ESO and East 17t 

j;)28 Fifth Avenue- 

23d and 24th 



V 




STREETS IN NEW VORK 






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NEW YORK. 



SOUTH PART OF THE 

BIBIH 0£ M »HH»TTAN 



STREET INDEX. 



/ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 223 278 9 



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